CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Overseas Sports Programmes

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been allocated by  (a) his Department and  (b) UK Sport to overseas sports programmes until 2012.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 24 January 2008
	 No firm allocations from departmental or UK Sport budgets have been made for overseas sports programmes beyond 2008-09.
	Allocations to date for the years 2007-08 and 2008-09 are:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			  (a) From the Department for Culture, Media and Sport   
			 Total £200,000 — 
			
			  (b) From UK Sport   
			 Total 1,609,000 1,530,000

Sportsmatch UK

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Government's plans are for Sportsmatch UK; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 24 January 2008
	 Management of the Sportsmatch programme in England successfully transferred to Sport England's direct control in April 2007. Sport England is in the process of developing and agreeing with Ministers their new three-year strategy for 2008-11. We envisage that small grants, with matched funding, will form a part of the new strategy. Sport England is consulting partners and stakeholders on whether the Sportsmatch brand should continue.

Trade Unions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings he has had with trades union officials since 1 July 2007; on what dates; and with which trades unions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Ministers meet many people as part of the process of policy development. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Accountancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what items of his Department's  (a) revenue and  (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer prices index, (ii) the retail prices index and (iii) other measures of inflation.

Shaun Woodward: The requested information is as follows:
	 (a) Revenue generated by the Northern Ireland Office is based on prices set by Government legislation and therefore the Department does not increase prices through indexation or any other measure of inflation.
	 (b) The Northern Ireland Office carries out an annual indexation exercise on its Fixed Assets using the Price Index Numbers for Current Cost Accounting as well as the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS), Residential Land Index and the Dwellings Index in relation to Land and Buildings.
	Inflation is also taken into consideration in the preparation of business cases for future expenditure in accordance with Treasury guidance.

Departmental ICT

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) male and  (b) female members of staff in his Department were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The figures shown in the following table include the numbers of personal digital assistants, including blackberries and most recently smart phones issued to staff each year within the NI0. It should be made clear however that some of these items may be re-issued when there are staff changes.
	
		
			   Male  Female 
			 2001 0 0 
			 2002 0 0 
			 2003 4 2 
			 2004 3 2 
			 2005 4 2 
			 2006 6 2 
			 2007 4 1 
			 2008 5 4 
		
	
	Please note none of these devices are allowed to be connected directly to the NIO confidential ICT network.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the helicopters in Afghanistan not fitted with winches are fitted with an alternative device capable of extracting personnel from situations where landing is impossible, broken down by device.

Bob Ainsworth: None of the Apache or Lynx helicopters deployed to Afghanistan are equipped with a winch or any other device designed to extract personnel from situations where landing is impossible. That is not the purpose of those helicopters. All UK Sea King and all UK Chinooks deployed in Afghanistan are equipped with winches.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the effect on costs of the changes in arrangements for payment of lump sums under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme coming into force on 8 February 2008.

Derek Twigg: There are at present 24 personnel with serious multiple injuries who have submitted a claim and will benefit from the change to the multiple injury rule which comes into effect on 8 February 2008. Under the rules of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, individuals have up to five years in which to make a claim, accordingly, there maybe others who have yet to claim. However, it is estimated that the 24 cases will cost an additional £2-4 million following the revised rule coming into effect.
	Estimating the numbers of potential claimants and therefore future costs is always difficult. The Ministry of Defence will meet its obligations to pay entitlements to compensation in accordance with the rules of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work is being undertaken by his Department on the cost and structure of the Armed Forces' Pension Scheme.

Derek Twigg: The costs of the Armed Forces Pensions Schemes are routinely monitored by officials. The last significant review of the Armed Forces Pensions Schemes resulted in the Armed Forces (Pensions and Compensation) Act 2004 and the creation of the pension scheme known as AFPS 05 in April 2005. As part of the ongoing process of providing such benefits we are keeping under review how to manage the Schemes' long term liabilities.

Athena Mechanism

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much expenditure from the public purse has been spent on European Security and Defence Policy military operations  (a) under the Athena mechanism and  (b) not under the Athena mechanism since January 2004, broken down by operation.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 10 January 2008
	The amount spent on ESDP military operations since January 2004 under the Athena mechanism is set out as shown.
	The amount spent on ESDP military operations since January 2004 not under the Athena mechanism format includes national borne costs which are held theatre wide rather than for NATO/ESDP (for example in the Balkans). Further work is therefore required to determine these costs as accurately as possible. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as this work is complete.
	
		
			  EU operation  Where  When  Under ATHENA (£ million) 
			 ALTHEA (Bosnia and Herzegovina Since July 2004 15.177 
			 EUFORDRC Democratic Republic of Congo April 2006 to November 2006 1.417 
			 EUFOR CHAD/CAR CHAD/ Central African Republic Yet to deploy 5.902 
			 Total — — 22.496 
		
	
	 Substantive answer from Mr. Bob Ainsworth to Dr. Fox:
	I undertook to write in answer to your Parliamentary Question of 14 January 2007,  Official Report, column 878W, with more detail on the amount spent on ESDP military operations since January 2004 not under the Athena mechanism format.
	In addition to the figures already provided, the national borne cost for NATO and ESDP missions is £208.95 million for the period requested. As this figure represents a national pan-Balkans commitment it has not been possible to disaggregate further between the NATO-led mission in Kosovo and the missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at first led by NATO and after July 2004 led by the EU.
	For the EUFOR mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo mission, two staff officers were deployed, but it has not been possible to disaggregate this figure.
	For the EUFOR mission to Chad and the Central African Republic, two staff officers have deployed to the French OHQ in Paris and two staff officers will deploy with the Force Headquarters to Chad, but the figure for these costs has not yet been identified.

Departmental Data Protection

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the statement of 22 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1225, on MOD (data loss), whether the laptop stolen on 9 January 2008 was a departmental laptop or a privately owned laptop.

Des Browne: The laptop stolen on 9 January 2008 was a departmental laptop.

Departmental Equipment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer on 19 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 1363-4W, on departmental equipment, how many of the computers which have been stolen since 1998 contained information with a classification of  (a) none,  (b) restricted,  (c) confidential,  (d) secret and  (e) top secret;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 58W, on departmental computers, how many of the computers which were stolen in 2007 had a classification of  (a) no classification,  (b) restricted,  (c) confidential,  (d) secret and  (e) top secret.

Bob Ainsworth: As a result of the theft of the Royal Navy laptop, the Ministry of Defence has initiated an investigation into the details of all lost or stolen computers since 2003.
	I will write to the hon. Member when the information is available and arrange for a copy of my reply to be placed in the Library of the House.

Devonport Naval Base

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which ships are base-ported at Devonport Naval Base, Plymouth.

Bob Ainsworth: There are 26 Royal Navy vessels currently base ported at HM Naval Base Devonport, as shown in the following table :
	
		
			  Class of vessel  Name of vessel 
			 Nuclear submarines HMS Trafalgar 
			  HMS Turbulent 
			  HMS Tireless 
			  HMS Triumph 
			  HMS Torbay 
			  HMS Talent 
			  HMS Trenchant 
			   
			 Amphibious vessels HMS Ocean 
			  HMS Albion 
			  HMS Bulwark 
			   
			 Type 22 Frigates HMS Campbeltown 
			  HMS Cumberland 
			  HMS Chatham 
			  HMS Cornwall 
			   
			 Type 23 Frigates HMS Montrose 
			  HMS Northumberland 
			  HMS Monmouth 
			  HMS Sutherland 
			  HMS Somerset 
			  HMS Portland 
			  HMS Argyll 
			   
			 Survey vessels HMS Echo 
			  HMS Scott 
			  HMS Gleaner 
			  HMS Roebuck 
			  HMS Enterprise

Health Services: Armed Forces

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 312W, on health services: armed forces, what funding is to be made available for care home funding for war pensioners in each financial year until 2016-17.

Derek Twigg: Under the War Pensions Scheme the Department has the discretionary power, in Article 21 of the Service Pensions Order, to meet the cost of any necessary expenses in respect of the medical, surgical or rehabilitative treatment of a member of the armed forces that arise wholly or mainly as a result of the disablement due to service before 6 April 2005 where it is not provided free of charge under other legislation of the United Kingdom. This power predates the NHS and is now little used because health care is through the normal mechanisms of the health service.
	MOD continues to fund the fees of a small number of war pensioners who are in homes that provide skilled nursing care for the condition for which they receive a war pension. Funding is provided on a case-by-case basis. Funding under the War Pensions Scheme comes from Annually Managed Expenditure, is demand led and is not subject to forecast other than for the purposes of the War Pensions supply estimate.

Lobbying

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many lobbyists have passes giving them access to his Department's building in Whitehall; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: MOD security policy allows the issue of passes to persons who, for business reasons, require frequent access to MOD buildings and who meet relevant security criteria. Details of the company each individual is employed by are held, but their post title or function is not usually recorded.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in hiring helicopters for use in theatre by  (a) the UK and  (b) NATO.

Des Browne: As the Prime Minister announced on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 304, NATO has negotiated a contract to lease commercial helicopters to move routine freight in Afghanistan, which will free up military helicopters for other tasks. This contract will commence shortly and will be of significant benefit to UK forces. There are no separate UK commercial helicopter leasing initiatives planned although commercial helicopters were leased for a few days in December 2007 to help deliver Christmas mail and parcels to troops in Afghanistan.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Community Policing

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recommended minimum number per ward is of participants in key individual networks.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 17 January 2008
	Key individual networks (KINs) are intended as a mechanism for neighbourhood policing teams to canvass the opinions of the local public on a broad range of policing-related issues.
	The KIN structure is flexible in nature; the minimum number of participants per ward or boundary in KINs is governed by the needs of the community that it serves. For example, the Metropolitan Police Service has identified its neighbourhoods based on existing ward boundaries. Other police forces have used different methodologies to identify their neighbourhoods such as discussions with local residents and partnerships, together with an analysis of local crime and demographic data.

Community Support Officers: Humberside

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the retention rate of police community support officers was in the Humberside Police Authority area in each year since 2002-03; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Information on the retention rate of police community support officers in Humberside is a matter for the chief constable and his police authority.

Crime: Databases

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in her Department have had with (i) foreign governments and (ii) foreign intelligence services on granting access to UK databases to foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: This Government believe that the sharing of data with other countries is fundamental to our ability to tackle serious crime, terrorism and illegal immigration. We have therefore been engaging with our EU partners to pursue a number of projects to improve the exchange of law enforcement data including through the joining up of national databases on DNA, fingerprints and vehicle registration (the Prüm Council Decision), and through the joining up of criminal records databases.
	The United Kingdom is a significant provider of information to Europol and Eurojust to facilitate the cross-border prosecution of terrorism and organised crime. We are also in the process of implementing the Schengen Information System II, which will provide us with alerts on matters such as missing persons, fugitives and stolen vehicles.
	As part of the G8 the UK has encouraged all states to contribute data to and participate in the Interpol 1-24/7 database for lost and stolen passports and identity documents. G8 states took the lead by being among the first states globally to submit all of their data on both issued and unissued lost and stolen documents to Interpol.
	Furthermore, the UK is participating in a project to evaluate the extent that G8 countries share data between their own migration authorities and police and other competent security authorities with a view to development of best practice procedures for this. The UK has also led a project to create the G8 DNA 1-24/7 Sear Request Network, which involves access between national databases (although on a hit/no hit basis only for DNA). It does not include the creation of a common data base, automatically link databases or allow automatic access to an existing database or information held on the database of a G8 state from outside that state itself. All participating states retain direct in-country control to enable them to decline any inquiry.
	We have numerous bilateral relationships with key partners both in Europe and beyond, including the United States, which enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to cooperate effectively to protect the security of the public in the UK and other countries.
	In all cases where the Government shares personal data with other countries, it must ensure the relevant arrangements comply with legal obligations to provide appropriate safeguards for privacy rights, including those set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Data Protection Act 1998 (which implemented EC Directive 95/46 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data). Many of the key instruments providing for the sharing of personal data between law enforcement agencies at the EU level incorporate data protection safeguards tailored to the specific types of data to be shared. The Data Protection Framework Decision will, when adopted, set uniform data protection standards for personal data sent from one member state to another, and also to European bodies such as Europol, for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties.

Dogs: Children

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attacks on children by dogs have been have been recorded in each year since the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 came into force by  (a) Rottweilers and  (b) each category of dog banned under the Act.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not available centrally from the recorded crime statistics. Attacks by dogs are not crimes as defined in law. The relevant offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 relate to an owner or person in charge allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place injuring any person or allowing a dog to enter a non-public place and injure any person. These offences would generally be recorded under the Home Office classification 'Less serious wounding' and cannot be separately identified from other offences recorded within that classification.

Essex Police Authority: Costs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) staff and  (b) administrative costs of Essex police authority were in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: This information is not held centrally. The staffing and related costs of the authority are a matter for the Essex police authority.

Essex Police: Emergency Calls

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the performance of the Essex police emergency call system.

Tony McNulty: HMIC inspected all forces in England and Wales across a number of police business areas as part of their Baseline assessments up until 2007. Contact management was one of those business areas. In the three years to 2007, Essex police had been graded Fair (2003-04), Fair (2004-05) and GOOD (2005-06), indicating steady and continual improvement.
	In the year to date Essex have been performing very well in respect of their 999 emergency call-handling, answering 92.5 per cent. of call received within 10 seconds, which is 2.5 per cent. above the expected target of 90 per cent. in 10 seconds as laid down in the National Call Handling Standards.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what restrictions are placed on the activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam within the UK;
	(2)  what plans she has to reconsider the restrictions placed on the activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam;
	(3)  how often she reviews the proscription of organisations considered to be involved in terrorism;
	(4)  whether the proscriptions of organisations under the Terrorism Act 2000 are indefinite; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was proscribed by the then Home Secretary in 2001. The Terrorism Act 2000 contains a number of offences relating to proscribed organisations including membership, fundraising, inviting support and wearing clothes or displaying articles so as to arouse reasonable suspicion that the wearer is a member or supporter of any such organisation. The Police and Crown Prosecution Service are responsible for, respectively, investigating and prosecuting offences under this legislation.
	The proscription of organisations is not subject to a time limit. And an organisation which is proscribed can only be de-proscribed by an order subject to the positive resolution procedure removing it from schedule 2 of the Terrorism Act 2000. However, it is our policy and practice to review regularly proscribed organisations on the current list and to assess whether they should continue to be proscribed. Any person who is affected by an organisation's proscription can apply to the Secretary of State for it to be de-proscribed, and we take any such requests very seriously.

Members: Correspondence

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to Question 164672 tabled by the hon. Member for Cardiff Central, on 12 November 2007 for answer on 15 November; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2062W.

Merseyside Police: Modernisation

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received on the compatibility of the restructuring of the Merseyside police with the framework laid down by her work force modernisation agenda.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 15 November 2007
	I am not aware of any restructuring being undertaken by Merseyside police and have received no representations about it.

National Bureaucracy Advisor on Police Reform

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the current National Bureaucracy Advisor on Police Reform is; and whether the position is vacant.

Tony McNulty: The National Bureaucracy Advisor role has been vacant since July 2006. Sir Ronnie Flanagan's Review of Policing, which began on 26 April 2007, is taking forward the work on reducing bureaucracy in the service.
	Recommendations for reducing police bureaucracy were made in Sir Ronnie's interim report and are being taken forward by the National Policing Improvement Agency. The agency will be shaping the staffing and leadership of this work to meet the requirements made in Sir Ronnie's report.
	Sir Ronnie's final report will be published shortly.

Police Patrolling

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 90W, on police patrolling, what the respective figures are for each year from 1997-98 to 2005-06 based on the same definition used in the answer.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 18 December 2007
	 The information requested on the percentage of time spent on front-line duties by the Essex police is set out in the following table. This measure was only introduced in 2003-04 and is not available for earlier years, and the definition is kept under review.
	
		
			  Essex police—time spent on front-line duties 2003-04 to 2006-07 
			   Percentage time spent on front-line policing 
			 2003-04 56.8 
			 2004-05 60.9 
			 2005-06 62.9 
			 2006-07 64.8

Police: Complaints

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many formal complaints were made against  (a) South Yorkshire police and  (b) English police forces to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and how many of those complaints were upheld.

Tony McNulty: Responsibility for the collation and publication of complaints against the police rests with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Police: Finance

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects on police involvement in community services of the planned reduction in funding for police authorities in 2008-09.

Tony McNulty: There is no reduction in funding for police authorities in 2008-09.
	The provisional police funding settlement for the next three years was announced on 6 December 2007. General grant will increase by 2.7 per cent. in each year with each police authority in England and Wales receiving a minimum increase in general grant of 2.5 per cent. for each of those years. In addition, a range of other funding will be made available to all police authorities. In line with the Government's commitment to neighbourhood policing, the settlement includes an increase from £315 million to £324 million for neighbourhood policing provision for 2008-09.

Police: Manpower

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of police officers left the police service  (a) within two to five years,  (b) within five to 10 years and  (c) after over 10 years of joining, in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Tony McNulty: Data are available from 2002-03 onwards, and the Home Office only started collecting this level of detail from that year.
	These figures are given in the following tables, and are on the same basis as the ones given for police officers who left the service within two years of joining—28 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 471-75W. The number of transfers between forces has been separately identified as these officers, while leaving individual police forces, have not left the police service itself.
	
		
			  Number of police officers leaving the force (with the number of transfers separately identified) and the percentage of total police officer leavers that this figure represents, from 2002 - 03 to 2006 - 07( 1) 
			   (a) Officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			   2002 - 03  2003 - 04 
			  Police force area  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 4 9 4 7 14 10 
			 Bedfordshire 4 13 14 8 16 15 
			 Cambridgeshire 4 5 5 10 13 14 
			 Cheshire 1 1 1 4 8 7 
			 Cleveland 1 1 2 3 9 11 
			 Cumbria 1 3 5 3 5 10 
			 Derbyshire 3 6 5 1 7 8 
			 Devon and Cornwall 5 7 5 1 8 6 
			 Dorset 1 6 9 3 3 4 
			 Durham 4 5 7 8 10 13 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 1 2 1 1 3 
			 Essex 20 26 12 7 19 9 
			 Gloucestershire 8 13 16 7 9 16 
			 Greater Manchester 22 42 11 21 40 12 
			 Gwent 0 6 10 4 6 8 
			 Hampshire 10 17 8 12 20 9 
			 Hertfordshire 14 19 10 7 16 10 
			 Humberside 4 8 8 7 14 14 
			 Kent 7 12 6 16 21 9 
			 Lancashire(2) — — — 0 13 10 
			 Leicestershire(3) 10 14 11 0 4 5 
			 Lincolnshire 3 4 5 5 8 13 
			 London, City of 1 2 3 2 3 5 
			 Merseyside 2 5 3 7 16 9 
			 Metropolitan Police 143 187 11 147 205 13 
			 Norfolk 2 3 3 1 3 6 
			 Northamptonshire 2 5 9 4 12 16 
			 Northumbria 3 8 5 4 15 8 
			 North Wales 3 9 12 2 7 12 
			 North Yorkshire 1 2 3 2 4 5 
			 Nottinghamshire — 10 7 10 14 11 
			 South Wales 4 12 8 5 17 12 
			 South Yorkshire 7 14 8 5 11 7 
			 Staffordshire 3 8 6 3 6 6 
			 Suffolk 8 13 15 — 2 3 
			 Surrey 65 72 29 35 46 31 
			 Sussex 11 15 6 13 21 7 
			 Thames Valley 52 64 17 35 45 14 
			 Warwickshire 4 10 17 4 8 14 
			 West Mercia 3 6 5 0 5 4 
			 West Midlands 51 65 12 46 69 15 
			 West Yorkshire 1 10 4 6 15 6 
			 Wiltshire 0 6 7 5 7 11 
			 Total(4) 483 730 10 471 778 11 
		
	
	
		
			   2004 - 05  2005 - 06 
			  Police force area  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 8 16 9 9 24 13 
			 Bedfordshire 4 8 8 6 13 15 
			 Cambridgeshire 10 20 19 13 21 19 
			 Cheshire 3 7 6 3 14 8 
			 Cleveland 6 13 16 8 19 18 
			 Cumbria 1 2 4 2 4 6 
			 Derbyshire 2 11 10 3 11 8 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6 13 7 5 12 6 
			 Dorset 0 4 5 1 9 9 
			 Durham 4 10 12 4 7 7 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 3 5 2 6 8 
			 Essex 13 22 10 14 26 10 
			 Gloucestershire 1 3 5 5 11 12 
			 Greater Manchester 12 47 13 34 73 15 
			 Gwent 3 7 10 3 12 15 
			 Hampshire 23 31 12 10 21 7 
			 Hertfordshire 14 25 16 11 25 15 
			 Humberside 5 21 19 10 16 10 
			 Kent 10 23 11 11 30 11 
			 Lancashire(2) 6 13 8 3 10 5 
			 Leicestershire(3) — — — 5 11 7 
			 Lincolnshire 1 1 1 4 10 10 
			 London, City of 8 9 15 9 11 14 
			 Merseyside 9 20 9 2 10 4 
			 Metropolitan Police 86 142 10 112 214 13 
			 Norfolk 1 2 3 1 3 3 
			 Northamptonshire 6 14 15 5 6 7 
			 Northumbria 6 8 5 2 14 7 
			 North Wales 0 8 15 0 3 3 
			 North Yorkshire 7 16 18 4 8 8 
			 Nottinghamshire 15 21 14 10 16 10 
			 South Wales 1 6 5 2 14 8 
			 South Yorkshire 6 11 6 3 14 6 
			 Staffordshire 1 7 6 3 6 5 
			 Suffolk 8 11 15 4 7 8 
			 Surrey 32 42 27 15 26 17 
			 Sussex 3 5 2 9 24 11 
			 Thames Valley 38 52 17 36 62 19 
			 Warwickshire 1 3 5 1 5 7 
			 West Mercia 7 12 10 1 9 6 
			 West Midlands 26 54 12 29 66 14 
			 West Yorkshire 11 25 9 11 22 6 
			 Wiltshire 2 8 10 0 6 8 
			 Total(4) 401 763 11 417 910 11 
		
	
	
		
			   2006 - 07 
			  Police force area  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 16 28 17 
			 Bedfordshire 2 12 21 
			 Cambridgeshire 6 10 11 
			 Cheshire 4 11 10 
			 Cleveland 3 8 10 
			 Cumbria 1 9 18 
			 Derbyshire 3 10 7 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3 8 6 
			 Dorset 4 7 6 
			 Durham 1 7 11 
			 Dyfed-Powys 6 6 13 
			 Essex 0 21 7 
			 Gloucestershire 3 9 12 
			 Greater Manchester 32 76 15 
			 Gwent 8 12 18 
			 Hampshire 14 19 9 
			 Hertfordshire 24 45 25 
			 Humberside 6 17 14 
			 Kent 14 27 12 
			 Lancashire(2) 4 20 11 
			 Leicestershire(3) 7 17 12 
			 Lincolnshire 3 10 12 
			 London, City of 6 8 12 
			 Merseyside 4 19 7 
			 Metropolitan Police 86 226 13 
			 Norfolk 2 7 7 
			 Northamptonshire 8 13 13 
			 Northumbria 3 15 8 
			 North Wales 6 13 15 
			 North Yorkshire 6 15 15 
			 Nottinghamshire 7 15 10 
			 South Wales 0 8 4 
			 South Yorkshire 8 18 9 
			 Staffordshire 6 16 14 
			 Suffolk 4 9 17 
			 Surrey 19 32 17 
			 Sussex 12 32 15 
			 Thames Valley 46 77 26 
			 Warwickshire 7 11 15 
			 West Mercia 4 16 11 
			 West Midlands 26 65 13 
			 West Yorkshire 16 38 11 
			 Wiltshire 1 6 10 
			 Total(4) 430 1,011 13 
		
	
	
		
			   (b) Officers leaving with five to less than ten years' service 
			   2002 - 03  2003 - 04 
			  Police force area  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 12 25 12 5 14 10 
			 Bedfordshire 6 6 7 8 10 10 
			 Cambridgeshire 12 23 21 8 12 13 
			 Cheshire 2 13 12 4 16 15 
			 Cleveland 1 5 8 2 7 9 
			 Cumbria 3 7 12 0 3 6 
			 Derbyshire 2 7 6 1 4 5 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4 13 8 6 11 9 
			 Dorset 3 3 4 2 8 11 
			 Durham 4 10 14 7 10 13 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 10 18 0 1 3 
			 Essex 23 35 16 16 22 11 
			 Gloucestershire 1 2 2 3 5 9 
			 Greater Manchester 20 44 12 16 40 12 
			 Gwent 0 9 15 0 4 5 
			 Hampshire 14 22 10 19 32 14 
			 Hertfordshire 21 25 13 8 11 7 
			 Humberside 2 10 10 4 6 6 
			 Kent 18 27 13 12 19 8 
			 Lancashire(2) — — — 0 9 7 
			 Leicestershire(3) 14 28 22 0 10 12 
			 Lincolnshire 2 5 7 2 5 8 
			 London, City of 5 10 17 8 13 23 
			 Merseyside 2 11 6 8 18 10 
			 Metropolitan Police 93 179 10 88 144 9 
			 Norfolk 5 8 9 2 4 8 
			 Northamptonshire 6 7 13 7 14 19 
			 Northumbria 6 17 10 4 20 11 
			 North Wales 2 2 3 1 8 14 
			 North Yorkshire 1 2 3 6 10 14 
			 Nottinghamshire — 17 12 6 7 6 
			 South Wales 3 8 5 0 6 4 
			 South Yorkshire 3 14 8 3 12 7 
			 Staffordshire 5 17 13 4 10 10 
			 Suffolk 1 3 4 1 7 9 
			 Surrey 26 30 12 6 12 8 
			 Sussex 17 28 11 17 30 10 
			 Thames Valley 28 40 11 31 42 13 
			 Warwickshire 2 2 3 1 1 2 
			 West Mercia 5 8 7 10 15 12 
			 West Midlands 57 82 16 43 93 21 
			 West Yorkshire 6 18 7 7 25 10 
			 Wiltshire 0 8 10 0 3 5 
			 Total(4) 425 812 11 376 734 11 
		
	
	
		
			   2004 - 05  2005 - 06 
			   Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 5 15 9 6 14 8 
			 Bedfordshire 4 5 5 3 3 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 3 9 9 4 12 11 
			 Cheshire 4 6 6 7 14 8 
			 Cleveland 0 8 10 3 8 8 
			 Cumbria 3 4 9 5 7 10 
			 Derbyshire 5 9 8 1 3 2 
			 Devon and Cornwall 7 11 6 5 13 7 
			 Dorset 4 11 14 2 6 6 
			 Durham 2 5 6 7 9 9 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 7 11 0 6 8 
			 Essex 16 23 10 21 22 8 
			 Gloucestershire 2 3 5 3 6 6 
			 Greater Manchester 13 32 9 19 45 9 
			 Gwent 5 11 15 3 9 11 
			 Hampshire 17 27 10 9 19 6 
			 Hertfordshire 9 15 10 17 23 13 
			 Humberside 1 3 3 6 19 12 
			 Kent 10 20 9 11 21 8 
			 Lancashire(2) 2 8 5 4 6 3 
			 Leicestershire(3) — — — 11 23 14 
			 Lincolnshire 3 8 10 4 7 7 
			 London, City of 5 9 15 3 5 6 
			 Merseyside 4 7 3 6 16 6 
			 Metropolitan Police 62 136 10 77 140 9 
			 Norfolk 3 4 5 2 7 8 
			 Northamptonshire 4 10 11 4 8 9 
			 Northumbria 5 11 7 7 15 7 
			 North Wales 0 0 0 0 10 10 
			 North Yorkshire 1 4 4 7 15 15 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 8 6 8 12 8 
			 South Wales 1 5 4 7 13 7 
			 South Yorkshire 3 13 7 11 19 8 
			 Staffordshire 5 10 8 2 3 3 
			 Suffolk 2 10 14 5 7 8 
			 Surrey 12 16 10 16 24 16 
			 Sussex 19 32 12 6 13 6 
			 Thames Valley 18 25 8 16 36 11 
			 Warwickshire 1 3 5 1 5 7 
			 West Mercia 4 10 9 3 9 6 
			 West Midlands 24 49 11 30 57 12 
			 West Yorkshire 0 19 7 7 14 4 
			 Wiltshire 2 8 10 0 6 8 
			 Total(4) 291 621 9 354 700 8 
		
	
	
		
			   2006 - 07 
			  Police force area  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 7 13 8 
			 Bedfordshire 5 10 18 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 5 6 
			 Cheshire 5 9 8 
			 Cleveland 1 7 9 
			 Cumbria 1 3 6 
			 Derbyshire 3 15 11 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6 13 10 
			 Dorset 4 8 7 
			 Durham 5 8 13 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 2 4 
			 Essex 0 11 4 
			 Gloucestershire 1 6 8 
			 Greater Manchester 25 69 14 
			 Gwent 2 6 9 
			 Hampshire 8 17 8 
			 Hertfordshire 22 30 17 
			 Humberside 3 7 6 
			 Kent 12 26 11 
			 Lancashire(2) 3 7 4 
			 Leicestershire(3) 7 15 11 
			 Lincolnshire 4 6 7 
			 London, City of 8 10 15 
			 Merseyside 3 11 4 
			 Metropolitan Police 90 167 10 
			 Norfolk 1 4 4 
			 Northamptonshire 6 8 8 
			 Northumbria 4 16 9 
			 North Wales 6 11 13 
			 North Yorkshire 2 10 10 
			 Nottinghamshire 11 20 14 
			 South Wales 1 16 8 
			 South Yorkshire 19 26 13 
			 Staffordshire 6 9 8 
			 Suffolk 4 6 11 
			 Surrey 22 37 19 
			 Sussex 12 21 10 
			 Thames Valley 25 38 13 
			 Warwickshire 4 8 11 
			 West Mercia 9 18 12 
			 West Midlands 36 63 13 
			 West Yorkshire 2 12 3 
			 Wiltshire 1 10 16 
			 Total(4) 389 792 10 
		
	
	
		
			   (c) Officers leaving with 10 years' or more service 
			   2002 - 03  2003 - 04 
			  Police force area  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 13 133 65 7 83 58 
			 Bedfordshire 17 56 61 20 56 54 
			 Cambridgeshire 13 62 58 12 60 63 
			 Cheshire 3 93 82 8 73 67 
			 Cleveland 2 53 87 8 57 70 
			 Cumbria 4 44 75 0 37 77 
			 Derbyshire 2 90 82 1 62 72 
			 Devon and Cornwall 5 114 74 6 99 77 
			 Dorset 6 46 68 4 49 65 
			 Durham 2 53 72 3 47 60 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 38 69 7 33 83 
			 Essex 40 131 61 49 147 71 
			 Gloucestershire 3 55 66 4 33 58 
			 Greater Manchester 14 233 62 15 186 56 
			 Gwent 2 44 72 6 60 82 
			 Hampshire 16 157 70 14 132 57 
			 Hertfordshire 47 113 59 33 88 56 
			 Humberside 2 69 66 3 55 57 
			 Kent 21 133 62 36 141 62 
			 Lancashire(2) — — — 0 86 68 
			 Leicestershire(3) 15 76 60 12 56 65 
			 Lincolnshire 1 49 67 2 41 67 
			 London, City of 9 36 61 8 35 63 
			 Merseyside 2 170 87 4 128 73 
			 Metropolitan Police 185 968 56 156 834 53 
			 Norfolk 2 69 75 2 38 75 
			 Northamptonshire 4 36 64 5 40 55 
			 Northumbria 6 119 73 13 127 70 
			 North Wales — 57 74 3 35 61 
			 North Yorkshire 5 46 79 4 53 72 
			 Nottinghamshire — 102 74 6 89 72 
			 South Wales 2 108 71 1 113 77 
			 South Yorkshire 5 120 70 2 117 72 
			 Staffordshire 9 94 72 3 75 73 
			 Suffolk 9 57 67 6 46 61 
			 Surrey 34 92 37 7 50 34 
			 Sussex 42 154 63 37 152 52 
			 Thames Valley 60 213 58 63 194 61 
			 Warwickshire 4 34 59 3 40 71 
			 West Mercia 6 89 77 11 81 66 
			 West Midlands 73 292 55 45 281 62 
			 West Yorkshire 13 199 77 12 177 71 
			 Wiltshire 0 58 71 7 42 64 
			 Total(4) 685 4,879 64 636 4,286 61 
		
	
	
		
			   2004 - 05  2005 - 06 
			  Police force area  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 8 111 65 8 131 71 
			 Bedfordshire 15 55 56 9 57 64 
			 Cambridgeshire 11 63 61 8 65 59 
			 Cheshire 7 79 72 32 142 80 
			 Cleveland 1 46 57 10 71 67 
			 Cumbria 1 31 69 15 56 78 
			 Derbyshire 4 83 76 16 121 87 
			 Devon and Cornwall 5 136 76 28 151 76 
			 Dorset 1 51 65 4 74 71 
			 Durham 1 49 60 17 71 69 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 41 67 11 59 79 
			 Essex 21 144 65 53 172 66 
			 Gloucestershire 5 41 71 13 73 78 
			 Greater Manchester 16 224 63 16 330 67 
			 Gwent 1 51 70 1 46 58 
			 Hampshire 18 171 64 41 222 76 
			 Hertfordshire 20 79 50 23 92 54 
			 Humberside 5 77 68 17 101 65 
			 Kent 22 146 68 56 197 73 
			 Lancashire(2) 6 125 75 50 181 86 
			 Leicestershire(3) — — — 16 106 67 
			 Lincolnshire 0 57 71 8 65 68 
			 London, City of 9 35 59 17 60 76 
			 Merseyside 13 179 79 4 239 84 
			 Metropolitan Police 111 886 64 288 1,155 72 
			 Norfolk 5 67 84 11 70 77 
			 Northamptonshire 8 62 68 11 67 74 
			 Northumbria 8 122 76 38 160 79 
			 North Wales 0 36 67 10 80 81 
			 North Yorkshire 1 56 63 4 76 75 
			 Nottinghamshire 4 101 70 25 128 80 
			 South Wales 2 108 83 25 143 78 
			 South Yorkshire 11 121 69 43 185 77 
			 Staffordshire 6 75 60 10 92 81 
			 Suffolk 4 37 50 12 66 73 
			 Surrey 18 70 44 11 78 52 
			 Sussex 21 138 53 23 135 61 
			 Thames Valley 27 174 56 14 190 58 
			 Warwickshire 9 55 86 16 58 79 
			 West Mercia 12 81 70 28 127 82 
			 West Midlands 29 266 60 38 301 62 
			 West Yorkshire 13 184 69 50 267 73 
			 Wiltshire 4 52 66 7 49 67 
			 Total(4) 477 4,640 65 1,071 6,022 71 
		
	
	
		
			   2006 - 07 
			  Police force area  Number of transfers (included as part of overall officers leaving the service)  Number of police officers leaving the force with two to less than five years' service  Percentage of police officers leaving with two to less than five years' service 
			 Avon and Somerset 9 110 68 
			 Bedfordshire 8 22 39 
			 Cambridgeshire 11 63 70 
			 Cheshire 5 78 68 
			 Cleveland 7 46 60 
			 Cumbria 0 31 62 
			 Derbyshire 2 106 76 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9 91 69 
			 Dorset 1 81 73 
			 Durham 3 40 63 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 37 77 
			 Essex 0 210 74 
			 Gloucestershire 1 57 75 
			 Greater Manchester 30 328 67 
			 Gwent 2 39 60 
			 Hampshire 13 154 73 
			 Hertfordshire 22 76 42 
			 Humberside 5 81 67 
			 Kent 14 162 71 
			 Lancashire(2) 10 134 76 
			 Leicestershire(3) 16 99 71 
			 Lincolnshire 6 58 72 
			 London, City of 10 47 70 
			 Merseyside 3 199 76 
			 Metropolitan Police 95 1,226 72 
			 Norfolk 9 77 77 
			 Northamptonshire 19 70 67 
			 Northumbria 3 141 76 
			 North Wales 2 55 63 
			 North Yorkshire 3 61 59 
			 Nottinghamshire 6 106 72 
			 South Wales 1 155 82 
			 South Yorkshire 9 127 65 
			 Staffordshire 8 80 68 
			 Suffolk 3 36 67 
			 Surrey 23 70 37 
			 Sussex 20 128 59 
			 Thames Valley 16 150 51 
			 Warwickshire 1 49 65 
			 West Mercia 13 99 68 
			 West Midlands 23 325 65 
			 West Yorkshire 15 253 73 
			 Wiltshire 2 40 65 
			 Total(4) 434 5,364 68 
			 (1) Leaving figures include police officers leaving the force within the designated range of years of joining or re-joining the service, due to dismissals (including requirement to resign), voluntary resignations, medical retirements, ordinary retirements, all transfers and all deaths. (2) Data for Lancashire were not available in 2002-03. (3) Data for Leicestershire were not available in 2004-05. (4) In order to compare data between 2002-03 and 2006-07 Lancashire and Leicestershire have been excluded from the total.

Police: Training

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officer recruits in England and Wales began residential training in each year since 1999.

Tony McNulty: The number of police officer recruits in England and Wales who began residential training in each of the year from 1999 to 2006 is given in the following table. The new Initial Police Learning and Development Programme commenced in April 2006 and, apart from recruits to the Metropolitan Police Service, negated the requirement for a residential element as training is provided locally.
	
		
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  Total 1999-2006 
			 Forces in England and Wales(1) 3,613 5,787 7,421 7,760 8,434 6,023 3,641 42,679 
			 Metropolitan Police Service(2) 994 1,350 2,748 3,489 3,362 2,351 1,332 15,626 
			 Total 4,607 7,137 10,169 11,249 11,796 8,374 4,973 58,305 
			  
			  Non Home Office force recruits trained for service inside England and Wales 
			 Total 73 109 101 119 183 311 264 1,160 
			  
			  Non Home Office force recruits trained for service outside England and Wales (Channel Islands) 
			 Total 53 46 48 29 26 21 19 242 
			 (1) Excludes Metropolitan police force, British Transport police, NCS/NSPIS, Channel Island police and non-Home Office police forces (2) This figure includes transferees from other forces who underwent residential training

Reoffenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persistent and prolific offenders have been identified in each police force area in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: Data from the performance management arrangements for the prolific and other priority offender programme (JTrack) provides the number of such offenders identified through partnership arrangements in each police force area. The data are provided in the following table. The data cover the two calendar years 2005 and 2006. Figures for the calendar year 2007 are not yet available for publication.
	
		
			  Sum of prolific and priority offenders 
			  Police force area  At December 2005  At December 2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 239 245 
			 Bedfordshire 123 139 
			 Cambridgeshire 93 110 
			 Cheshire 182 180 
			 City of London 5 12 
			 Cleveland 127 145 
			 Cumbria 66 70 
			 Derbyshire 368 373 
			 Devon and Cornwall 395 365 
			 Dorset 208 208 
			 Durham 61 58 
			 Dyfed Powys 93 82 
			 Essex 258 235 
			 Gloucestershire 100 106 
			 Greater Manchester 739 846 
			 Gwent 79 85 
			 Hampshire 209 274 
			 Hertfordshire 247 149 
			 Humberside 181 214 
			 Kent 334 261 
			 Lancashire 424 367 
			 Leicestershire 330 353 
			 Lincolnshire 155 232 
			 Merseyside 410 445 
			 Metropolitan police 1,080 1,185 
			 Norfolk 131 110 
			 North Wales 159 120 
			 North Yorkshire 56 89 
			 Northamptonshire 195 229 
			 Northumbria 208 236 
			 Nottinghamshire 505 558 
			 South Wales 190 204 
			 South Yorkshire 249 252 
			 Staffordshire 157 252 
			 Suffolk 173 173 
			 Surrey 151 191 
			 Sussex 320 320 
			 Thames Valley 326 351 
			 Warwickshire 74 88 
			 West Mercia 155 120 
			 West Midlands 714 768 
			 West Yorkshire 284 243 
			 Wiltshire 81 73 
			 All forces 10,634 11,116 
			  Notes: 1. Figures represent those PPOs in each area who were known to be members of schemes in December of the year concerned, based on JTrack data. 2. If a PPO belonged to more than one scheme during the December of the year concerned then they would be counted more than once.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Freedom of Information

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of Freedom of Information requests received by his Department have given rise to responses that have been published by his Department.

Anne McGuire: This Department has adopted a selective disclosure log whereby only the most interesting and high profile pieces of information released in response to Freedom of Information requests are published. In 2005 and 2006 around 1 per cent. of such responses were published on the Department's web-based Freedom of Information disclosure log. The Department does however routinely publish large amounts of information on its website including policy documents and research, analysis and statistics.

Departmental Manpower

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of posts in his Department have been re-categorised from back office to frontline posts as classified by the Gershon efficiency review in each year since 2004.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions' target for spending review 2004 is that 10,000 posts will be redeployed from back office to front line posts by March 2008. By March 2007 10,228 posts had been redeployed to the front line. The following table shows the breakdown by year:
	
		
			  By March:  Number of posts redeployed  Proportion of total headcount redeployed (percentage) 
			 2005 1,607 1.3 
			 2006 6,667 5.8 
			 2007 10,228 9.4

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether any of his Department's special advisers also work for organisations outside his Department.

Anne McGuire: Special advisers are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the Model Contract and Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, copies of which are in the Library of the House.

Housing Benefit: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of local housing allowance in Havering on the most recent date for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: Nobody is being paid local housing allowance in the London borough of Havering; it has not yet been rolled-out to that borough.
	Local housing allowance will roll-out nationally for all new claims in the deregulated private rented sector from 7 April 2008.

Incapacity Benefit

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department will pay the award of current incapacity benefit and arrears from 3 April due to Mr. Hudspith of Christchurch following the decision of the Appeal Tribunal (Ref. 185/07/00866) on 14 November 2007; and what the reasons are for the time taken to make the payment.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 13 December 2007
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. Details of benefit claims are confidential so she will write to the hon. Member directly on the matter in question.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 25 January 2008:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking when the award of incapacity benefit arrears due to Mr Hudspith of Christchurch following the decision of the Appeal Tribunal (Ref. 85/07/00866) on 14 November and what the reasons are for the time taken to make the payment. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Details of benefit claims are confidential and I will write to you directly on the matter in question.

Incapacity Benefit

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the claim for incapacity benefit by Mr. Bernard Pierce of Verwood, Dorset will be determined; and what the reason is for the time taken.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 22 January 2008
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 25 January 2008:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking when the claim for incapacity benefit by Mr. Bernard Pierce of Verwood Dorset will be determined and what the reason is for the time taken. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Details of benefit claims are confidential and I will write to you directly on the matter in question.

New Deal Schemes

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2007,  Official Report, column 467W, on new deal schemes, what employment-related schemes his Department provides for non-EU citizens.

Caroline Flint: All employment-related schemes are available to non-EU citizens subject to the participant meeting the eligibility criteria of the programme. For the new deals, this usually involves being in receipt of a qualifying benefit.

Pensions

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that those eligible for having pensions restored following the collapse of company schemes are aware of their entitlement.

Mike O'Brien: There are two methods by which those who have lost their pensions might receive restoration of up to 90 per cent. of their loss. These are the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) and the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS).
	Scheme trustees are responsible for informing scheme members where an approach to the PPF or the FAS is necessary. Both FAS and the PPF provide assistance to trustees with member communications. Both also have websites where scheme details are displayed.
	The FAS Operational Unit (FAS OU) which is administered by the Department, contacts individual members once a scheme has been assessed and the trustees have provided the necessary information. Eligible scheme members receive a form and an explanatory leaflet about FAS. The FAS OU may also contact some members by telephone—for example where forms have not been returned and people might be missing out on assistance.
	Following the Secretary of State's announcement on 17 December extending FAS assistance, the Department has embarked on a programme of communication with trustees, is in the process of restructuring the FAS website, and updates the media regularly on progress.

Personal Accounts: Advisory Services

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to establish a strategy for providing advice and information on personal accounts.

Mike O'Brien: Information about personal accounts will be provided, as with other pension schemes, by the scheme itself. We are also considering what general information will be needed by all those auto-enrolled, whether into personal accounts or another pension scheme.
	We already produce information on retirement planning, alongside a number of other organisations, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Pensions Advisory Service and the Financial Services Authority. We have a programme of research underway, the results of which will be published, to establish what more might be needed.
	The Thoresen Review, and the Government's action plan on financial capability, will assess the need to add to the services on offer. We will work with these and other organisations to ensure that a range of information and help is available to those who are making decisions about their retirement.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many benefits claimants were prosecuted for fraudulently claiming an amount  (a) less and  (b) more than £103,000 in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many benefits claimants were imprisoned for fraudulently claiming an amount  (a) less and  (b) more than £103,000 in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested as it is not centrally collated.
	The Department does hold figures for the total number of prosecutions and the total number of people imprisoned, but these are not centrally available broken down by the amount of the overpayment and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Unemployment Benefits: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children in Peterborough constituency were living in a household in receipt of at least one out-of-work benefit in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available prior to 2004. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Children under 16 years of age living in households in receipt of out-of-work benefits in the Peterborough parliamentary constituency; as at April each year 
			   Number 
			 2004 5,910 
			 2005 5,640 
			 2006 5,415 
			 2007 5,470 
			  Notes: 1. All figures supplied have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. All data represent a snapshot in time of claimants on the computer system, and will therefore exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically. 3. Data represent children dependent on a parent or guardian who is claiming one or more of incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, jobseeker's allowance, income support or pension credit. 4. Due to the introduction of child tax credits in April 2003, information on child dependents are not reliably completed on the benefit computer system, therefore children's data has been merged onto IS/JSA/IB/SDA/PC claims from child benefit records with permission from HMRC.  Source: DWP Information Directorate

Written Questions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  when he expects to answer question 162357, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 6 November 2007, on incapacity benefit claimants.
	(2)  when he expects to answer question 162358, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 6 November, on incapacity benefit.

Anne McGuire: I replied to the hon. Member's questions on 6 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1505W.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Females: Prisoners

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women what steps the Government has taken to reduce the number of women in prison since 1997.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 19 November 2007
	 The Government launched the Women's Offending Reduction Programme (WORP) in March 2004 to tackle women's offending and to reduce the number of women in prison. This multi-agency strategic programme of work aims to provide a more appropriate response in the community to the particular factors that lead to women offending.
	In March 2005, the Government allocated £9.15 million to help support a more local response to women's offending and to establish new initiatives to tackle women's offending in the community—the Together Women Programme. This is the first time that the Government have dedicated funds specifically to tackling women's offending and to exploring how alternatives approaches to custody could work effectively for women.
	The Together Women Programme is being delivered over four years through demonstration projects in two regional offender manager regions—Yorkshire and Humberside and the North West. Centres are located in Doncaster, Leeds and Bradford (YH) and Liverpool and Salford (NW). The centres provide a one-stop shop where women from the local community can access appropriate services and interventions such as mental, physical and sexual health, drug misuse, physical and sexual abuse, housing advice and debt and benefits service.
	On 6 December 2007, the Government published its response to Baroness Corston's Review of Women with Particular Vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System. This sets out our commitment to build on the work already under way to meet the needs of women offenders and those at risk of offending in the community in order to divert women from custody.

Members' Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many letters her Office and its predecessors received from hon. Members and Peers in each session of Parliament since 1997.

Barbara Follett: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/peers correspondence. Information relating to 2007 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2006 was published on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 101-04WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.

Trade Unions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what meetings she has had with officials of trades unions since 1 July 2007; and what the date and union or unions involved were in each case.

Barbara Follett: Ministers meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Departmental ICT

Susan Kramer: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many  (a) male and  (b) female members of staff of the Electoral Commission were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that 23 male and 23 female members of staff have been issued with personal digital assistants since 2006, which was the first year such devices were used.
	These figures are broken down as follows:
	
		
			   Male  Female 
			 2006 6 3 
			 2007 17 19 
			 2008 0 1 
			 Total 23 23

Departmental Travel

Jeremy Browne: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how much the Electoral Commission spent on travel  (a) within and  (b) outside the UK for officials in each year since it was established; and what percentage of the Commission's overall expenditure was spent on such travel in each such year.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it only holds information on travel expenditure dating back to the financial year 2003-04. This information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   April to December 2007  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04 
			 Local travel costs (£) 186,957 227,147 202,337 266,574 269,480 
			 Overseas travel costs (£) 18,092 5,055 13,931 39,227 32,693 
			 Local travel (Percentage total expenditure) 1.25 1.02 0.92 1.07 1.36 
			 Overseas travel (Percentage total Expenditure) 0.12 0.02 0.06 0.16 0.16 
		
	
	These figures include travel costs for both staff and Commissioners.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Jeremy Browne: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many overseas visits were made by staff of the Electoral Commission in each year since it was established; which countries were visited; and what the cost of the visits was in each year.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the costs associated with international visits by staff are only available from 2003 onwards. No visits have taken place in 2008. The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of Visits( 1)  Country  visited  Cost (£) 
			 2001 7 Australia — 
			   Canada  
			   Croatia  
			   New Zealand  
			   Republic of Ireland  
			   Spain  
			   Sweden  
			 
			 2002 9 Kosovo (Election Observation) — 
			   Mauritius  
			   Poland  
			   Republic of Ireland  
			   Russia  
			   Spain  
			   Sweden  
			 
			 2003 17 Antigua and Barbuda (Election Observation) 28,773.27 
			   Armenia (Election Observation)  
			   Australia  
			   Belgium  
			   Canada  
			   Germany  
			   India  
			   Mexico  
			   Poland (Referendum Observation)  
			   Serbia and Montenegro (Election Observation)  
			   Sweden (Referendum Observation)  
			   Switzerland  
			   Ukraine (Election Observation)  
			   USA  
			   Zanzibar (Election Observation)  
			 
			 2004 22 Albania 41,943.79 
			   Australia (Election Observation)  
			   Austria  
			   Belgium (Election Observation)  
			   Canada (Election Observation)  
			   Chile  
			   Cyprus (Election Observation)  
			   Georgia (Election Observation)  
			   Germany (Election Observation)  
			   Italy (Election Observation)  
			   Latvia (Election Observation)  
			   Malta (Election Observation)  
			   Netherlands (Election Observation)  
			   Poland (Election Observation)  
			   Republic of Ireland (Election Observation)  
			   Spain (Election Observation)  
			   Sweden (Election Observation)  
			   USA  
			 
			 2005 13 Austria 14,361.92 
			   Canada (Referendum Observation)  
			   France  
			   Hungary  
			   India  
			   Mexico  
			   Poland  
			   Russia  
			   Spain (Referendum Observation)  
			   USA  
			 
			 2006 4 Canada (Election Observation) 3,892.68 
			   Latvia  
			   Poland  
			 
			 2007 9 Canada 12,159.04 
			   Poland  
			   Republic of Ireland  
			   Russia  
			   South Africa  
			   Sweden  
			   Switzerland (Election Observation)  
			   USA  
			 (1) Some countries were visited more than once in any given year.

Political Parties: Donations

Ian Lucas: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission 
	(1)  how many donations by registered political parties to regulated donees were recorded by the Electoral Commission in each year since 2000;
	(2)  how many individual donations to regulated donees by registered political parties were registered by individual regulated donees in each year since 2000.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it records donations to regulated donees in its register, available on its website. The register indicates that the number of donations reported by regulated donees from political parties were as follows each year since reporting began in 2001:
	
		
			   Cash donations  Non-cash donations  Overseas visits provided 
			 2001 0 0 0 
			 2002 0 1 0 
			 2003 0 3 0 
			 2004 0 3 0 
			 2005 1 3 0 
			 2006 0 0 1 
			 2007 1 2 0 
			 2008 (to date) 0 0 0

Political Parties: Donations

Ian Lucas: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what steps the Electoral Commission takes when a regulated donee does not register a donation made to him or her by a registered political party at the request of a donor.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that when it has reason to suspect that a donation to a regulated donee may not have been correctly reported under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Commission may make enquiries to establish whether statutory reporting obligations have been met. If the enquiries suggest a breach of the requirements, the Commission may decide to refer the matter to the police and/or to the relevant prosecuting authority, as appropriate. The Commission may also issue further advice and guidance.

Political Parties: Donations

Ian Lucas: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how the Electoral Commission monitors compliance with the requirement by registered political parties to advise regulated donees to register donations passed to them at the request of donors.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that there is no requirement that a political party advise regulated donees to report donations.
	However, the Commission works closely with regulated organisations and individuals to ensure that they are aware of the rules. The Commission publishes guidance, runs training sessions and responds to requests for advice.

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what research the Electoral Commission has conducted on spending by local party associations under £25,000 a year; and what accounts of associations have been collected as part of that research.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that, in 2004 and in 2007, it canvassed all registered accounting units to inquire as to whether their total income or gross expenditure was greater than £25,000 for the prior financial year. Those that were under this threshold were asked to confirm so in writing.
	The purpose of the exercise was to confirm which accounting units should be submitting accounts to the Commission and which should not. The Commission has conducted no research into spending by those associations under the threshold.
	In the course of each canvass, some associations under the threshold provided sets of accounts to the Commission. These were not requested and the Commission has no plans to undertake research into them.

PRIME MINISTER

China

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether he plans to discuss the human rights situation in Tibet on his forthcoming visit to China;
	(2)  whether he plans to raise the issue of the human rights situation in Burma with Chinese officials on his forthcoming visit to China;
	(3)  whether he plans to discuss China's use of the death penalty with Chinese officials on his forthcoming visit to China.

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister whether he discussed  (a) the Chinese One Child Policy and  (b) forced abortion with the authorities during his visit to China; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I discussed a wide range of issues on my visit to China. I refer the hon. Members to the press conference I held with Premier Wen of China in Beijing on 18 January 2008. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website:
	http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14307.asp
	and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Correspondence

Ben Wallace: To ask the Prime Minister when he will reply to the letter from the President of the European Parliament of 5 December 2007, on the report by the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry in the crisis of the Equitable Life Assurance Society.

Gordon Brown: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has replied to the letter.

Official Visits: English Heritage

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Prime Minister how many official visits he has made to English Heritage sites since taking office.

Gordon Brown: A list of my UK visits will be published in the usual way following the end of the financial year. My visits cover a range of matters and details of them can be found on the No. 10 website.

Written Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his practice personally to approve replies to written parliamentary answers in his name.

Gordon Brown: Yes.

JUSTICE

Driving Under Influence: Prosecutions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions for drink driving offences were pursued against  (a) males and  (b) females in each criminal justice area in each of the last 10 years; and how many resulted in conviction.

Maria Eagle: Available information held on prosecutions and resultant convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or taking drugs from 1996 to 2005 (latest available) are provided in the following tables. 2006 data will be available later this year.
	The data provided cover both drink and drugs offences combined, as they cannot reliably be distinguished separately.
	
		
			  Table A: Proceedings at magistrates courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drug( 1, 2)  by gender and police force area, England and Wales, 1996 to 2005 
			  Number of offences 
			   1996  1997  1998  1999  2000 
			  Police force area  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,574 225 2,836 278 2,574 258 2,690 281 2,427 292 
			 Bedfordshire 1,102 94 1,235 88 1,064 103 879 82 802 82 
			 Cambridgeshire 951 90 1,078 98 1,038 107 915 107 794 88 
			 Cheshire 1,984 244 1,945 220 1,864 230 1,773 229 1,681 218 
			 Cleveland 952 77 943 86 864 83 832 80 779 79 
			 Cumbria 935 84 915 101 845 82 825 100 779 95 
			 Derbyshire 1,645 152 1,684 169 1,558 137 1,481 132 1,441 158 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,179 227 2,375 262 2,277 254 2,248 259 2,135 286 
			 Dorset 1,214 141 1,223 132 1,172 138 1,091 132 1,083 161 
			 Durham 1,039 100 1,067 73 1,014 120 1,121 130 1,108 110 
			 Essex 2,608 260 2,760 261 2,535 241 2,566 269 2,468 234 
			 Gloucestershire 958 110 1,070 100 954 125 865 106 790 101 
			 Greater Manchester 5,153 415 4,830 405 4,652 465 4,787 467 4,707 479 
			 Hampshire 3,520 353 3,683 416 3,530 390 3,659 403 3,398 414 
			 Hertfordshire 1,454 144 1,693 151 1,665 169 1,678 149 1,500 191 
			 Humberside 1,363 120 1,301 110 1,355 118 1,306 104 1,314 154 
			 Kent 2,638 177 2,364 170 2,624 229 2,606 245 2,559 248 
			 Lancashire 3,178 330 3,334 350 2,831 373 2,893 397 2,550 329 
			 Leicestershire 1,551 112 1,662 120 1,499 116 1,652 126 1,511 140 
			 Lincolnshire 838 71 1,102 104 973 101 930 101 834 77 
			 London, City of 451 53 413 50 303 35 231 28 179 14 
			 Merseyside 2,942 240 2,864 251 2,493 267 2,172 197 2,301 214 
			 Metropolitan Police 16,588 1,453 17,428 1,561 15,026 1,409 13,391 1,329 12,923 1,243 
			 Norfolk 980 95 1,078 96 1,082 115 959 111 913 101 
			 Northamptonshire 984 72 1,155 93 1,117 113 1,110 118 813 85 
			 Northumbria 2,625 166 2,757 216 2,526 260 2,533 260 2,691 267 
			 North Yorkshire 1,335 123 1,316 165 1,194 125 1,091 138 1,026 134 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,986 162 2,081 189 1,856 157 1,850 176 1,734 181 
			 South Yorkshire 2,209 151 2,403 178 1,996 192 1,911 165 2,125 197 
			 Staffordshire 1,939 151 2,092 210 1,944 219 1,709 176 1,825 185 
			 Suffolk 1,054 117 1,037 119 1,021 125 1,044 143 891 111 
			 Surrey 1,358 151 1,367 145 1,286 169 1,350 188 1,516 213 
			 Sussex 2,207 251 2,366 292 2,117 227 2,170 270 2,091 236 
			 Thames Valley 4,144 357 4,172 394 3,955 399 3,818 374 3,489 432 
			 Warwickshire 917 82 815 92 767 88 832 95 777 78 
			 West Mercia 1,947 147 1,970 125 1,809 137 1,707 160 1,587 154 
			 West Midlands 6,271 365 6,761 427 5,938 410 5,129 341 4,766 446 
			 West Yorkshire 4,336 303 4,089 305 3,759 341 3,708 310 3,454 344 
			 Wiltshire 971 98 1,004 114 1,094 90 954 113 876 121 
			 England 93,080 8,063 96,268 8,716 88,171 8,717 84,466 8,591 80,637 8,692 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 980 115 1,046 117 985 117 936 111 890 95 
			 Gwent 1,016 86 1,146 122 1,211 125 1,119 107 1,209 132 
			 North Wales 1,336 152 1,347 149 1,258 152 1,184 163 1,279 151 
			 South Wales 2,867 231 2,972 267 3,014 295 2,543 280 2,763 312 
			 Wales 6,199 584 6,511 655 6,468 689 5,782 661 6,141 690 
			
			 England and Wales 99,279 8,647 102,779 9,371 94,639 9,406 90,248 9,252 86,778 9,382 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Police force area  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,147 256 2,332 293 2,646 333 2,567 384 2,486 387 
			 Bedfordshire 925 88 959 110 1,068 129 1,019 101 1,069 101 
			 Cambridgeshire 800 80 827 100 905 114 1,029 130 1,154 135 
			 Cheshire 1,560 193 2,114 318 1,862 304 2,234 340 1,637 266 
			 Cleveland 890 83 916 96 1,021 115 1,064 119 915 122 
			 Cumbria 720 90 734 98 798 117 865 97 778 145 
			 Derbyshire 1,470 142 1,451 163 1,589 189 1,824 218 1,552 212 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,317 277 2,389 286 2,574 380 2,429 363 2,295 344 
			 Dorset 1,130 154 1,162 185 1,217 167 1,197 169 1,125 174 
			 Durham 1,054 127 1,101 146 1,150 128 1,188 150 1,070 179 
			 Essex 2,435 282 2,506 294 2,548 299 2,734 376 2,444 381 
			 Gloucestershire 842 108 912 113 866 131 856 139 809 128 
			 Greater Manchester 4,732 503 4,607 512 4,615 578 4,636 559 4,426 590 
			 Hampshire 3,436 384 3,766 474 3,590 451 3,642 479 3,202 497 
			 Hertfordshire 1,621 205 1,826 252 1,852 280 1,834 259 1,780 271 
			 Humberside 1,213 142 1,418 138 1,481 130 1,596 156 1,545 162 
			 Kent 2,571 290 2,686 338 2,802 295 2,928 323 2,798 349 
			 Lancashire 2,256 314 2,545 383 2,668 346 2,634 385 2,623 372 
			 Leicestershire 1,591 139 1,648 169 1,683 187 1,681 187 1,592 185 
			 Lincolnshire 901 90 841 76 1,110 123 1,133 165 1,132 162 
			 London, City of 162 20 229 31 226 22 186 18 196 15 
			 Merseyside 2,299 214 2,287 264 2,748 329 2,874 357 2,932 363 
			 Metropolitan Police 12,549 1,196 14,103 1,390 13,911 1,365 14,089 1,518 13,631 1,410 
			 Norfolk 1,158 135 1,180 175 1,291 143 1,205 169 1,210 169 
			 Northamptonshire 429 35 226 27 793 89 897 103 851 129 
			 Northumbria 2,590 260 2,598 323 2,759 357 2,635 386 2,519 336 
			 North Yorkshire 1,014 144 1,068 139 1,153 172 1,073 152 1,172 180 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,609 177 1,489 127 1,663 187 1,623 205 1,602 199 
			 South Yorkshire 2,039 192 1,954 211 2,133 264 2,227 247 2,203 227 
			 Staffordshire 1,506 167 1,639 231 1,682 217 1,690 251 1,662 257 
			 Suffolk 935 114 1,102 135 1,204 174 1,325 172 1,069 141 
			 Surrey 1,774 281 1,618 232 1,405 210 1,371 200 1,375 242 
			 Sussex 2,352 283 2,268 266 2,357 290 2,182 355 2,195 325 
			 Thames Valley 3,305 376 4,291 512 3,831 481 3,455 451 3,357 450 
			 Warwickshire 844 111 821 94 880 106 814 88 803 114 
			 West Mercia 1,691 183 1,655 223 1,758 213 1,627 186 1,881 156 
			 West Midlands 5,173 431 5,410 448 5,517 476 5,731 597 5,674 575 
			 West Yorkshire 3,419 320 3,772 353 3,813 357 3,900 371 3,876 383 
			 Wiltshire 1,001 126 971 129 958 147 998 131 977 137 
			 England 80,460 8,712 85,421 9,854 88,127 10,395 88,992 11,056 85,617 10,970 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 856 117 937 132 994 138 949 152 902 143 
			 Gwent 1,142 155 1,059 116 1,174 147 1,149 162 1,057 199 
			 North Wales 1,230 136 1,249 166 1,303 168 1,301 170 1,273 186 
			 South Wales 2,847 328 2,748 350 2,838 388 2,788 372 2,743 392 
			 Wales 6,075 736 5,993 764 6,309 841 6,187 856 5,975 920 
			
			 England and Wales 86,535 9,448 91,414 10,618 94,436 11,236 95,179 11,912 91,592 11,890 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Findings of guilt at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs( 1, 2)  by gender and police force area, England and Wales, 1996 to 2005 
			  Number of offences 
			   1996  1997  1998  1999  2000 
			  Police force area  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,309 203 2,557 255 2,332 234 2,476 252 2,197 265 
			 Bedfordshire 1,011 82 1,063 83 969 91 798 71 722 75 
			 Cambridgeshire 867 84 1,005 88 962 98 844 97 713 80 
			 Cheshire 1,807 227 1,762 207 1,694 209 1,612 215 1,460 192 
			 Cleveland 830 72 847 79 790 80 734 77 706 71 
			 Cumbria 854 73 838 92 779 77 772 99 717 89 
			 Derbyshire 1,460 135 1,472 141 1,420 127 1,346 117 1,272 145 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,943 201 2,113 229 2,036 229 2,044 233 1,941 258 
			 Dorset 1,064 126 1,097 117 1,056 130 1,002 118 967 148 
			 Durham 943 93 976 68 924 111 1,012 125 1,020 104 
			 Essex 2,323 232 2,505 231 2,223 215 2,289 239 2,244 218 
			 Gloucestershire 876 103 973 95 873 112 792 97 710 94 
			 Greater Manchester 4,711 374 4,433 373 4,293 422 4,412 438 4,358 443 
			 Hampshire 3,230 326 3,390 384 3,237 360 3,355 370 3,085 387 
			 Hertfordshire 1,294 127 1,529 141 1,517 154 1,534 145 1,374 178 
			 Humberside 1,241 112 1,173 101 1,248 110 1,227 96 1,220 151 
			 Kent 2,409 167 2,168 154 2,411 216 2,408 225 2,360 232 
			 Lancashire 2,896 315 3,071 318 2,604 341 2,641 369 2,288 296 
			 Leicestershire 1,380 98 1,536 112 1,376 109 1,507 117 1,404 127 
			 Lincolnshire 771 68 991 97 886 93 852 89 746 70 
			 London, City of 413 51 388 48 269 32 213 23 151 11 
			 Merseyside 2,537 208 2,492 229 2,214 237 1,957 180 1,945 183 
			 Metropolitan Police 13,784 1,231 14,811 1,344 12,663 1,225 11,281 1,133 10,754 1,046 
			 Norfolk 926 87 1,026 90 1,014 104 907 103 840 95 
			 Northamptonshire 861 66 1,023 84 963 99 955 103 716 66 
			 Northumbria 2,265 149 2,434 191 2,222 235 2,231 232 2,372 249 
			 North Yorkshire 1,203 108 1,216 149 1,094 111 996 128 943 130 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,786 145 1,869 162 1,658 146 1,637 165 1,553 169 
			 South Yorkshire 1,988 141 2,142 154 1,820 182 1,774 153 1,942 180 
			 Staffordshire 1,722 132 1,857 179 1,763 192 1,553 158 1,731 137 
			 Suffolk 960 106 939 111 931 111 961 128 805 97 
			 Surrey 1,239 137 1,245 135 1,170 158 1,240 177 1,341 198 
			 Sussex 1,975 225 2,109 264 1,910 203 1,978 246 1,886 226 
			 Thames Valley 3,620 322 3,720 352 3,524 371 3,379 346 3,108 388 
			 Warwickshire 833 74 751 85 704 80 765 91 712 74 
			 West Mercia 1,794 137 1,834 115 1,668 126 1,598 149 1,484 147 
			 West Midlands 5,564 314 5,972 382 5,211 371 4,468 307 4,167 392 
			 West Yorkshire 3,834 268 3,663 290 3,365 304 3,321 276 3,069 306 
			 Wiltshire 917 94 934 107 1,022 86 897 112 816 114 
			 England 82,440 7,213 85,924 7,836 78,815 7,891 75,768 7,799 71,839 7,831 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 890 103 925 104 886 109 842 102 777 81 
			 Gwent 889 77 1,053 113 1,088 115 979 100 1,093 118 
			 North Wales 1,225 138 1,214 140 1,164 142 1,096 152 1,191 142 
			 South Wales 2,512 219 2,661 232 2,651 252 2,270 256 2,472 285 
			 Wales 5,516 537 5,853 589 5,789 618 5,187 610 5,533 626 
			
			 England and Wales 87,956 7,750 91,777 8,425 84,604 8,509 80,955 8,409 77,372 8,457 
		
	
	—continued
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Police force area  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,964 234 2,135 266 2,366 300 2,344 348 2,243 352 
			 Bedfordshire 837 77 851 104 952 120 932 96 957 93 
			 Cambridgeshire 738 76 761 90 829 104 962 121 1,089 125 
			 Cheshire 1,359 170 1,729 264 1,634 271 1,833 295 1,464 245 
			 Cleveland 814 73 831 90 876 105 960 111 844 115 
			 Cumbria 673 88 676 92 735 108 813 94 721 132 
			 Derbyshire 1,290 121 1,318 147 1,449 168 1,672 202 1,451 194 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,119 250 2,180 261 2,313 354 2,242 318 2,127 319 
			 Dorset 1,020 131 1,028 171 1,110 154 1,087 152 1,048 159 
			 Durham 982 115 1,002 134 1,049 121 1,134 143 1,002 166 
			 Essex 2,199 257 2,253 269 2,352 270 2,505 348 2,211 338 
			 Gloucestershire 764 101 826 100 772 118 782 131 720 114 
			 Greater Manchester 4,257 458 4,245 475 4,206 537 4,284 527 4,095 558 
			 Hampshire 3,105 359 3,422 424 3,249 414 3,302 441 2,910 462 
			 Hertfordshire 1,475 191 1,661 233 1,657 246 1,634 247 1,589 247 
			 Humberside 1,127 132 1,270 125 1,327 118 1,476 147 1,448 144 
			 Kent 2,315 260 2,433 311 2,535 276 2,710 300 2,593 314 
			 Lancashire 2,020 284 2,258 341 2,336 316 2,360 346 2,382 341 
			 Leicestershire 1,416 130 1,504 155 1,557 168 1,578 176 1,460 171 
			 Lincolnshire 792 85 773 74 999 112 1,057 152 1,027 149 
			 London, City of 144 18 191 30 208 22 151 18 173 11 
			 Merseyside 2,011 184 2,056 237 2,395 292 2,518 331 2,634 330 
			 Metropolitan Police 10,265 989 11,746 1,160 11,486 1,135 11,932 1,295 11,658 1,229 
			 Norfolk 1,027 116 1,067 153 1,146 128 1,086 154 1,115 150 
			 Northamptonshire 370 29 209 27 714 85 825 97 740 113 
			 Northumbria 2,295 235 2,302 286 2,424 323 2,338 337 2,263 298 
			 North Yorkshire 937 129 990 129 1,037 157 988 143 1,073 171 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,441 157 1,305 114 1,476 168 1,479 190 1,445 181 
			 South Yorkshire 1,845 176 1,756 189 1,856 233 2,010 214 2,013 207 
			 Staffordshire 1,359 154 1,489 215 1,539 194 1,508 225 1,490 228 
			 Suffolk 821 99 986 119 1,061 152 1,176 156 974 129 
			 Surrey 1,384 208 1,408 206 1,270 194 1,245 180 1,272 231 
			 Sussex 2,091 267 2,061 245 2,162 268 2,032 336 2,074 305 
			 Thames Valley 2,934 341 3,841 476 3,448 436 3,136 403 3,059 415 
			 Warwickshire 776 104 754 87 824 94 764 81 762 109 
			 West Mercia 1,574 166 1,515 204 1,600 197 1,518 171 1,773 144 
			 West Midlands 4,526 389 4,655 395 4,799 434 5,067 517 5,160 533 
			 West Yorkshire 2,936 284 3,259 304 3,397 323 3,558 339 3,513 350 
			 Wiltshire 929 116 881 124 894 137 908 116 907 131 
			 England 70,931 7,753 75,627 8,826 78,039 9,352 79,906 9,998 77,479 10,003 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 767 100 815 112 874 121 853 133 806 126 
			 Gwent 1,019 133 971 103 1,014 135 1,039 149 945 184 
			 North Wales 1,099 128 1,121 149 1,169 157 1,193 156 1,194 170 
			 South Wales 2,525 287 2,439 322 2,493 347 2,482 329 2,445 366 
			 Wales 5,410 648 5,346 686 5,550 760 5,567 767 5,390 846 
			
			 England and Wales 76,341 8,401 80,973 9,512 83,589 10,112 85,473 10,765 82,869 10,849 
			 (1) Offences of aiding, abetting, causing or permitting driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s4(1), 4(2), 5(1)(a), 5(1)(b), 6(4), 7(6), 7A (as added by Police Reform Act 2002 s56); and Transport & Works Act 1992 s31A (as added by Police Reform Act 2002 s52). (2) Data covers summary offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs (which cannot reliably be distinguished).  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Rape: Sentencing

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders convicted of rape were given indeterminate sentences for public protection in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Jack Straw: A research study into prisoners received into prisons in England and Wales under indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP) between April 2005 and March 2006 found that 46 IPPs had been given for rape or attempted rape. This research study involved confirming individual case details with prisons and has not been repeated. However, data held in administrative IT systems suggest the number of IPPs given for rape or attempted rape was around 170 in the year from April 2006 to March 2007, and around 140 from April 2007 to November 2007 (the most recent data available).
	These figures have been drawn from data returns from prisons and administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

High Sheriffs

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list those counties in which the names on the most recent list of nominations for the position of High Sheriff were chosen  (a) following open advertisement and  (b) by a selection committee or board where membership is published.

Michael Wills: None of the names on the most recent list of nominations for the position of High Sheriff were chosen following open advertisement, or by a selection committee or board, where membership is published. The arrangements for seeking nominees are a matter for individual counties. It is the responsibility of High Sheriffs in office to provide the names of people suitable to serve in the future. With the help of local selection panels, they should cast the net as widely as possible and consider candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds.

HEALTH

Childbirth: Greater London

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies were born at  (a) Barnet,  (b) Royal Free and  (c) Edgware hospitals in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) 2007-08 to date; in each hospital how many pregnancies resulted in complications; how many Caesarean sections were performed in each hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested can be found in the following tables. However, the latest figures for birth rates at each hospital are only available to 2006-07.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Count of finished consultant delivery episodes and total caesarean deliveries for Royal Free Hampstead national health service trust, Barnet hospital and Edgware hospital for 2006-07, 2005-06 and 2004-05. NHS hospitals England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS 
			   Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust (RAL)  Barnet hospital (RVL01)  Edgware hospital (RVL07)( 1) 
			   Total finished consultant delivery episodes  Total caesarian deliveries  Total finished consultant delivery episodes  Total caesarian deliveries  Total finished consultant delivery episodes  Total caesarian deliveries 
			 2006-07 3,227 810 3,651 733 233 6 
			 2005-06 3,217 901 3,131 689 — — 
			 2004-05 3,178 858 3,027 757 — — 
			 (1) No data available for this organisation for the periods 2005-06 and 2004-05. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2:  Count of finished consultant delivery episodes with complications (see separate diagnosis codes) 
			   Total finished delivery episodes with complications (Diagnosis codes 060 - 075 
			   Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust (RVL01)  Barnet hospital  Edgware hospital (RVL07)( 1) 
			 2006-07 2,159 2,680 153 
			 2005-06 2,284 2,182 — 
			 2004-05 2,071 2,141 — 
			 (1) No data available for this organisation for the periods 2005-06 and 2004-05.  Notes:  Data Quality Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS Trusts, and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of Independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Maternity Coverage and data quality The maternity tail data coverage is not as complete as the rest of HES data. There are a number of reasons for the coverage and data quality issues such as: Trusts submitting a significantly higher number of delivery episodes compared to birth episodes Trusts failing to submit data on the number of birth episodes where they record a high number of delivery episodes Trusts failing to submit delivery—the reason for this is that approximately 20 trusts have a stand alone maternity system which is not linked to the Patient Administration System Trusts identifying a high number of maternity beds available, but not recording any information about deliveries or births Trusts identifying that they have no maternity beds available, but recording a high number of birth and delivery episodes Some trusts have space in their maternity system to record 9 birth tails, whereas other systems have space for 18. As deliveries, miscarriages and abortions are all recorded in the birth tail, there are cases where 9 tails is not enough to record all of the relevant data  All Diagnoses count of episodes These figures represent a count of all FCE's where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record. See table 3 for Diagnosis codes used.  Finished Consultant Episode (FCE) An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  Episode Type: 2 - Deliver/ Event 5 - Other Delivery Event  Ungrossed Data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source:  HES, The Information Centre for health and social care 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3 
			  Diagnosis codes  
			 060 Preterm delivery 
			 061 Failed induction of labour 
			 062 Abnormalities of forces of labour 
			 063 Long labour 
			 064 Obstruct labour due malposition and malpresentation of fetus 
			 065 Obstructed labour due to maternal pelvic abnormality 
			 066 Other obstructed labour 
			 067 Labour and delivery comp by intrapartum haemorrh NEC 
			 068 Labour and delivery complicated by fetal stress [distress] 
			 069 Labour and delivery complicated by umbilical cord complications 
			 070 Perinea/ laceration during delivery 
			 071 Other obstetric trauma 
			 072 Postpartum haemorrhage 
			 073 Retained placenta and membranes without haemorrhage 
			 074 Complications of anaesthesia during labour and delivery 
			 075 Other complications of labour and delivery NEC

Departmental Public Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent in near cash in 2005-06 for each activity in figure A.2 of his Department's Annual Report 2007; and what the level of near cash  (a) overspend or  (b) underspend was in relation to each activity.

Ben Bradshaw: Departmental expenditure limits, including near cash, apply to the aggregate level of departmental expenditure not individual programmes within the overall budget. The near-cash expenditure in 2005-06 for each activity in figure A.2 of the 2007 departmental report is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Consumption of resources by activity  Near cash outturn 2005-06 (£000) 
			 National health service 72,156 
			  O f which:  
			 Hospital and community health services 68,955 
			  O f which:  
			 Health authorities unified budgets and central allocations and grants to local authorities 68,955 
			 Family health services 2,131 
			  O f which:  
			 General dental services 1,038 
			 General ophthalmic services 358 
			 Pharmaceutical services 1,162 
			 Prescription charges income -427 
			 Central health and miscellaneous services 793 
			  O f which:  
			 Welfare food departmental expenditure limit 104 
			 European economic area medical costs 343 
			   
			 Other central health and miscellaneous services 346 
			   
			 Departmental administration including agencies 277 
			   
			 Personal social services (PSS) 2,060 
			  O f which:  
			 PSS 181 
			 Local authority social services grants 1,880 
			  O f which:  
			 Training support programme for social services staff  
			 Grants for adults 1,459 
			 Grants for children 91 
			 Human resources development strategy 63 
			 Grants funded form the invest to save fund performance fund  
			   
			 NHS superannuation—England and Wales(1) — 
			   
			 Credit guarantee finance(1) — 
			   
			 NHS annually managed expenditure(1) — 
			   
			 Total Department of health resource budget 74,232 
			 (1) This expenditure is outside the Department's expenditure limit and near cash controls.

Departmental Reorganisation

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the future of the Commercial Directorate of his Department; and by what date he intends to introduce any changes to its structure and responsibilities.

Ben Bradshaw: The Commercial Directorate will continue to play a major role in providing commercial expertise to the Department and in helping build commercial capability across the national health service. It will exercise its role in partnership with strategic health authorities and other NHS organisations.
	The Commercial Directorate will be reshaped to ensure it is ready for its future responsibilities. This transition is under way and will continue over the coming months.

Dermatology: Finance

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how funding for dermatology services in primary care will change as a result of the recent comprehensive spending review.

Ben Bradshaw: In the 2007 comprehensive spending review the national health service received annual growth in revenue resources of 3.7 per cent., above inflation, increasing total revenue expenditure from £86.8 billion in 2007-08 to £104.8 billion in 2010-11. Of these over 80 per cent. is allocated to primary care trusts to provide them with funding to deliver local and national priorities. It is not possible to provide an estimate of how funding for dermatology services will change as it is for local NHS organisations to commission services to meet their local health needs.

English Language

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on English language classes for staff in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: We do not hold central records of expenditure on English language classes. A survey to gather relevant information would involve disproportionate costs. Informally, we believe that a survey would identify very little or no expenditure on such classes.

General Practitioners

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department uses to monitor patients' access to out-of-hours general practitioner services.

Ben Bradshaw: We do not collect this information centrally. Primary care trusts have a responsibility to ensure they provide, or secure provision of a high quality, sustainable service that meets the needs of their local population.
	All out-of-hours services must be delivered to the national quality requirements, ensuring patients have access to consistently high quality and responsive care, regardless of where they live. Providers must deliver services that meet the quality requirements, as a contractual obligation. The requirements stipulate that:
	patients will be guaranteed a general practitioner consultation—including a home visit if there is a clinical need;
	patients are treated by the clinician best equipped to meet their needs in the most appropriate location; and
	services will be regularly audited to ensure that patients are receiving quality care.

Health Professions: Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) hospital doctors,  (b) nurses,  (c) GPs,  (d) GP practice nurses,  (e) nurse practitioners,  (f) modern matrons,  (g) community matrons and  (h) NHS managers there were in Barnet in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is held at national health service trust level only.
	The table shows the data held for Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust, Barnet primary care trust and the Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust, which serve the Barnet area, and the former Barnet health authority. 1997 data is available only for the Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust, and Barnet health authority. Latest available data is for 2006.
	Over 1.33 million people were employed in the NHS in England as at September 2006. Between September 1997 and 2006 the total number of NHS staff increased by over 280,000 (27 per cent.); the number of doctors and hospital dentists employed in the NHS in England increased by 35,993 (40 per cent.) to 125,612; the number of nurses employed in the NHS in England increased by 79,479 (25 per cent.) to 398,335; and the total number of qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff employed in the NHS in England increased by 38,200 (40 per cent.) to 134,498.
	We are now moving away from year-on-year growth in the NHS workforce to more of a steady state where there is a closer match between demand and supply. The focus now is strengthening frontline capacity through increases in productivity and skill mix. In some cases, productivity gains may mean that fewer staff are needed to deliver the same service outcomes.
	
		
			  All qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, medical and dental staff( 1) ,  general practitioners (GPs) (excluding retainers and registrars)( 2)  and practice nurses in each specified organisation as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Number (headcount) 
			   1997  2006 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust specified staff total (3)— 2,366 
			 All doctors (3)— 585 
			  O f which :   
			 Medical and dental staff(2) (3)— 585 
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)(2) (3)— (3)— 
			
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (3)— 1,692 
			  O f which :   
			 Practice nurses (3)— (3)— 
			 Modern matron (3)— 11 
			 Community matron (3)— 0 
			
			 Administrative managers (3)— 89 
			
			 Barnet health authority*   
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)(2) 195 n/a 
			 Practice nurses 135 n/a 
			
			 Barnet PCT specified staff total (3)— 711 
			 All doctors (3)— 246 
			  O f which :   
			 Medical and dental staff(1) (3)— 28 
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)(2) (3)— 218 
			
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (3)— 389 
			  O f which :   
			 Practice nurses (3)— 133 
			 Modern matron (3)— 3 
			 Community matron (3)— 0 
			
			 Administrative managers  76 
			
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 1,965 2,877 
			 All doctors 462 737 
			  O f which :   
			 Medical and dental staff(1) 462 737 
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)(2) (3)— (3)— 
			
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 1,402 2,035 
			  O f which :   
			 Practice nurses (3)— (3)— 
			 Modern matron (3)— 10 
			 Community matron (3)— 0 
			
			 Administrative managers 101 105 
			 (1) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals. (2 )General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes GP Providers and GP Others. (3 )Data not available. The numbers of modern matrons were not collected until 2005, and community matrons were not collected until 2006.   Note:  1. Due to a high number of organisation mergers in the Barnet area it is impossible to accurately map figures from predecessor to current trust organisation structures to provide data for 1997. The Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust has remained consistent, so figures are included. *The exception is GPs and their staff recorded in the former Barnet health authority in 1997 which is consistent with the current Barnet PCT. In 1997 there were 195 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) and 135 Practice Nurses in Barnet Health Authority.  2. GP Census does not display nurse practitioners as a separate work area.   Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census. The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census. The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Health Services: Thames Gateway

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what administrative arrangements have been put in place at departmental level to co-ordinate the delivery of new health care facilities and resources in the Thames Gateway growth area to meet the demands of new house building within the region.

Ben Bradshaw: The Thames Gateway Cross Government Board, comprising several officials from a number of Government Departments, including the Department, is responsible for the co-ordination of central Government investment in the Thames Gateway growth area, including the provision of health services.

Incontinence

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he intends to make it his policy to consult further before making any final decision upon the details and impact of any revised option for the proposed changes to Part IX of the Drug Tariff when he considers the responses to the consultation Arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances—and related services—to Primary Care.

Ivan Lewis: The latest consultation closed on 28 December 2008. Ministers have agreed that the Department can meet with industry and other relevant parties to discuss the best way to conclude this review.
	No further decisions have been made.

Meat Products: Origin Marking

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 710-11W, on pork, what minimum level of substantial change is required in order to permit the country in which a pork product was processed to be described as the country of origin on its labelling.

Ivan Lewis: There is no definition of place of 'last substantial transformation/change' in European Union law. However, the Food Standards Agency suggests in its "Guidance on Country of Origin Labelling" that, for example, the transformation of pork into bacon, ham or pies should be regarded as a treatment or process resulting in a substantial change, while simply slicing, cutting and/or packing meat does not amount to such a change.

Mental Health Services: Greater London

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget was for each mental health primary care trust within Greater London in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 14 January 2008
	The information is not available in the format requested. There are no mental health primary care trusts (PCTs). Furthermore, the Department does not hold information on the budgets of PCTs. However, the following tables shows the net operating costs, which relates to the size of the PCT, of all London PCTs and the spend on secondary mental illness from 2000-01 to 2006-07.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			  London PCT  Net Operating costs  Spend on secondary mental illness  Net Operating costs  Spend on secondary mental illness  Net Operating costs  Spend on secondary mental illness  Net Operating costs  Spend on secondary mental illness 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT — — 110,618 14,862 146,269 15,408 170,823 23,158 
			 Barnet PCT — — 249,700 25,809 327,960 28,788 358,235 33,562 
			 Bexley PCT/Care Trust 62,248 4,476 141,028 13,748 190,708 23,122 209,679 20,636 
			 Brent Teaching PCT — — — — 297,936 35,832 337,737 39,823 
			 Bromley PCT — — 214,671 22,692 283,730 28,016 317,805 28,502 
			 Camden PCT — — — — 325,834 52,007 314,241 59,411 
			 Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford PCT — — 91,622 12,275 108,227 13,753 — — 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT — — 188,409 38,125 256,962 43,875 295,976 44,907 
			 Croydon PCT — — — — 310,484 31,874 330,656 33,316 
			 Ealing PCT — — — — 322,152 89,702 357,416 40,438 
			 Enfield PCT — — 192,252 21,117 245,943 32,280 281,614 34,892 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT — — 195,183 28,125 261,854 48,841 281,191 35,983 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT — — — — 208,876 31,172 222,992 28,066 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT — — 192,093 31,657 255,480 32,656 280,934 76,146 
			 Harrow PCT — — — — 184,884 17,592 202,870 22,112 
			 Havering PCT — — 162,056 19,792 213,658 21,160 251,412 24,534 
			 Hillingdon PCT 173,211 0 189,563 16,073 220,908 20,118 243,802 23,758 
			 Hounslow PCT — — — — 222,958 21,514 254,520 22,789 
			 Islington PCT — — — — 258,769 51,429 261,761 53,522 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT — — — — 217,367 31,435 245,191 30,175 
			 Kingston PCT — — 103,160 11,073 148,481 18,273 160,794 18,459 
			 Lambeth PCT — — — — 351,925 72,408 403,207 73,061 
			 Lewisham PCT — — — — 284,012 50,618 307,559 53,722 
			 Nelson and West Merton PCT 93,633 0 103,387 11,264 — — — — 
			 Newham PCT — — 215,444 22,500 281,592 36,012 312,981 37,503 
			 Redbridge PCT — — 134,036 20,228 159,537 18,385 227,233 30,083 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT — — — — 161,896 19,683 184,296 18,459 
			 Southwark PCT — — — — 295,368 50,784 315,022 51,359 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT — — — — 343,166 37,367 384,936 38,249 
			 Teddington, Twickenham and Hamptons PCT — — 57,637 7,622 — — — — 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT — — 177,331 21,136 246,660 28,864 276,118 28,243 
			 Waltham Forest PCT — — — — — — 257,849 29,153 
			 Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone PCT — — 138,664 19,100 172,676 20,644 — — 
			 Wandsworth PCT — — — — 301,074 37,545 331,813 39,685 
			 Westminster PCT — — — — 315,490 91,507 315,363 44,862 
		
	
	
		
			  £000 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  London PCT  Net Operating costs  Spend on secondary mental illness  Net Operating costs  Spend on secondary mental illness  Net Operating costs  Spend on secondary mental illness 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 201,098 27,082 218,854 25,622 227,117 24,222 
			 Barnet PCT 400,164 34,169 425,382 35,379 417,143 36,064 
			 Bexley PCT/Care Trust 235,681 24,203 247,400 26,650 259,522 23,395 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 376,277 51,065 381,484 54,604 429,853 46,782 
			 Bromley PCT 343,334 33,485 372,593 38,206 371,239 39,638 
			 Camden PCT 362,678 57,973 394,966 48,095 372,848 47,091 
			 Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford PCT — — — — — — 
			 City And Hackney Teaching PCT 336,596 51,103 366,008 56,530 366,985 60,109 
			 Croydon PCT 380,122 36,590 405,093 37,166 417,424 50,874 
			 Ealing PCT 408,317 44,454 440,525 58,787 441,886 60,253 
			 Enfield PCT 307,941 41,605 331,714 39,848 358,550 42,333 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 307,506 38,131 328,526 47,718 341,711 51,981 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 232,758 32,546 242,090 34,765 265,818 37,184 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 318,050 89,057 340,680 55,213 345,851 57,540 
			 Harrow PCT 228,638 27,217 245,102 28,925 246,058 31,856 
			 Havering PCT 279,653 25,652 302,778 27,854 321,874 31,035 
			 Hillingdon PCT 282,354 24,690 322,254 26,529 305,227 24,563 
			 Hounslow PCT 295,683 23,620 283,884 27,767 301,200 29,540 
			 Islington PCT 313,248 57,478 333,447 66,493 341,988 77,725 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 290,956 34,812 305,377 39,082 277,048 40,048 
			 Kingston PCT 187,224 21,693 205,562 22,007 205,200 22,988 
			 Lambeth PCT 467,200 83,655 499,124 94,337 480,619 94,306 
			 Lewisham PCT 352,106 57,968 373,037 65,826 403,457 69,871 
			 Nelson and West Merton PCT — — — — — — 
			 Newham PCT 356,015 41,118 394,628 46,642 417,865 48,789 
			 Redbridge PCT 251,948 33,068 273,348 36,652 280,864 36,705 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 213,348 23,149 225,637 25,206 216,911 25,729 
			 Southwark PCT 366,301 59,770 403,334 62,489 397,637 64,896 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 420,047 40,157 455,205 43,322 455,702 45,074 
			 Teddington, Twickenham and Hamptons PCT — — — — — — 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 318,881 36,838 372,777 40,342 347,070 42,610 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 284,825 32,225 305,436 38,599 314,622 40,561 
			 Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone PCT — — — — — — 
			 Wandsworth PCT 366,191 45,736 373,973 48,748 387,068 55,194 
			 Westminster PCT 347,333 48,330 364,076 59,232 355,717 62,855 
			  Notes: 1. Health authorities were responsible for commissioning health care up to 2002-03 therefore figures by PCT are not comparable in these earlier years. 2. Where indicated by '—', the PCT was not in existence in that year.  Source: Audited summarisation schedules of London PCTs for 2000-01 to 2006-07.

NHS Direct: Standards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 611W, on NHS Direct, what the date was of each quarterly performance review meeting in the past two years; and if he will place copies of the  (a) agenda and  (b) minutes of such meetings in the Library.

Ben Bradshaw: Performance review meetings were held on:
	23 March 2006
	18 May 2006
	20 June 2006
	26 July 2006
	31 August 2006
	21 September 2006
	25 October 2006
	29 January 2007
	26 April 2007
	9 August 2007
	1 November 2007.
	Making available minutes of performance review meetings could prejudice the Department's ability to performance manage NHS Direct effectively, but copies of agendas for these meetings have been placed in the Library. In future, we will publish agendas and a summary of the minutes on the Department's website.

NHS: Reorganisation

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the work commissioned by his Department that  (a) has been finished and  (b) is ongoing on the implications of merging the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission.

Ivan Lewis: The Department of Health is working closely with the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission to prepare for the establishment of the Care Quality Commission. As part of this, two pieces of work have been commissioned by the Department:
	a scoping study to more clearly understand what information technology work is needed to support the establishment of the Care Quality Commission. This work is finished; and
	a study to identify options for the location(s) of headquarter functions of the Care Quality Commission. This work is ongoing.

NHS: Telephone Services

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on the use of non-geographic telephone numbers for lines used by members of the public; which of the primary care trusts in England advertise such telephone numbers to the public; and what estimate he has made of the number of calls to these numbers in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: The provision of telephone services for patients and the public is a matter for the local national health service. The Department did however issue guidance in December 2006 clearly setting out that patients should not be charged more than the equivalent of a local call.
	Information on which of the primary care trusts in England advertise non-geographical telephone numbers and how many calls were made to these numbers in the last 12 months is not collected centrally.

Peterborough Primary Care Trust

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to ask the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation to review the weighted-capitation formula in respect of the allocation to Peterborough primary care trust with reference to the provision of general practitioners; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The weighted-capitation formula is used to determine primary care trusts' (PCTs') target shares of available resources, to enable them to commission similar levels of health services for populations in similar need.
	The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) continually oversees the development of the formula. ACRA's objective is to ensure equity in resource allocation to all PCTs.
	ACRA's current work programme includes a review of the market forces factor, the need element of the formula and the population base for revenue allocations. ACRA's current review of the formula will be used to inform revenue allocations post 2008-09.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

International Assistance

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many country governance assessments have been carried out in the last 18 months; and what account has been taken of these assessments in his Department's  (a) development decisions, including budget support decisions and  (b) formulation of country and regional development assistance plans.

Douglas Alexander: DFID Country Offices were provided with guidance about how to undertake Country Governance Analysis (CGAs) in February 2007. Since then, 16 CGAs have been completed. These have been used, alongside other tools such as Drivers of Change Analysis, to inform programming decisions and Country Assistance Plans (CAPs). They are now a mandatory component of all CAPs. We are currently reviewing experience over the past nine months, and plan to update our guidance in April once that review is completed.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 23 November 2007, on funding to support the new AIDS strategy.

Douglas Alexander: A reply to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire's letter of 23 November 2007 has been issued.

Natural Resources: Armed Conflict

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department are working on policy on conflict resources.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development's work on conflict resources is managed by advisory and administrative staff in both the UK and in our offices overseas where conflict is a significant barrier to development. We also contribute indirectly to conflict policy development managed by the large multi-lateral donor organisations and non governmental organisations.
	As an indicator of the numbers involved, we have 110 staff working centrally on conflict and security issues, including specialist advisory staff, plus 165 staff overseas in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
	There will also be a number of other not readily identifiable staff working indirectly in support of those mentioned above.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Carbon Sequestration

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether carbon capture and storage technology will be made exempt from the Climate Change Levy.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The climate change levy is a tax on non-domestic use of energy aimed at promoting energy efficiency. There are currently no commercial-scale power generation plants in the UK which deploy carbon capture and storage, so the issue of liability to pay the levy does not arise.
	HMT consulted on the barriers to carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment in 2006 and the Government announced in the Energy Review that the next logical step would be a full-scale demonstration project. A competition to design and build one of the first ever-commercial CCS demonstration projects was launched by the Prime Minister on 19 November. This demonstration will provide the evidence, which will enable us to take informed policy decisions, including on taxation issues.
	All taxes and reliefs are kept under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Europe for Citizens

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what elements of the Europe for Citizens programme are operating in the UK.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	The elements of the Europe for Citizens programme currently operating in the UK include town twinning co-operation projects and structural support for public research and civil society organisations.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Labour Party: Marketing

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what permission the  (a) Cabinet Office and  (b) Office of Public Sector Information have given to the Labour Party to reproduce Crown copyright photographs of the Prime Minister on the Labour Party website; and what payments have been made by the Labour Party to the Exchequer in relation to such photographs in the last 12 months.

Michael Wills: I have been asked to reply.
	The majority of Crown copyright material can be re-used without charge under the terms of the online Click-Use Licence. The Labour party has a licence. Charges may be made for re-use of multiple Crown copyright photographs. No payments have been made by the Labour Party in this period.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Climate Change

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he  (a) last met and  (b) next plans to meet the Chairman of the Environment and Energy Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, United Kingdom to discuss the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Phil Woolas: The Secretary of State has not met, and has no immediate plans to meet, the Chairman of the Environment and Energy Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce UK, to discuss the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
	However, there is a regular formal dialogue between UK Government officials and International Chamber of Commerce members on a range of energy and climate related issues.

Floods: Crosby

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk of flooding in Crosby constituency from  (a) climate change and  (b) river overflow; and what proposals he has considered to tackle such (i) flooding and (ii) flood risk.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency (North West Central Area) is currently undertaking a study into tidal flood risk in the Crosby constituency as part of their "Tidal Areas Benefiting from Defences" study.
	This study is due for completion at the end of March 2008, and will produce a tidal flood outline which takes into account sea level rise due to climate change by the year 2115.
	The Environment Agency completed a study of the River Alt taking into consideration fluvial flood risk in 2000. The results of this study are already included in the Environment Agency's Flood Map.
	The River Alt and Crossens Catchment Flood Management Plan, which incorporates the Crosby constituency, is currently under development and at the consultation stage.
	The Environment Agency is investing approximately £8 million over the next three years in the Crosby constituency, which includes the refurbishment of the Altmouth pumping station, a major and key asset vital to flood protection is this area.

Floods: Crosby

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will allocate funding to strengthen the sea defences in Crosby against the increasing number of storm force gales and related flooding.

Phil Woolas: A strategic management plan for the coast between Crosby and Formby Point is being developed by Sefton metropolitan borough council with support from the Environment Agency. This plan is considering the most sustainable means of managing the risk posed by coastal erosion and tidal flooding over the next 100 years, incorporating the effects of climate change.
	Consultation took place with local communities and interest groups between September and December 2007 and the comments are currently being collated and assessed. The plan will be finalised during the coming year. Any proposals to refurbish, replace or upgrade defences at Crosby will be evaluated further and incorporated into the national prioritised capital works programme based on their relative merits.

Fuel Poverty: Targets

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made towards its public service agreement target to eliminate fuel poverty in vulnerable households in England by 2010 in line with the Government's Fuel Poverty Strategy objective; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 24 January 2008
	 We have been successful in reducing fuel poverty between 1996 and 2005 by 3 million vulnerable households across the UK. However, as indicated in our most recent UK Fuel Poverty Strategy fifth annual progress report, available on the website of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, rising energy prices since 2003 have had an impact on households and we estimate that there may still be 1.2 million vulnerable households in fuel poverty in England by 2010.

Game Birds

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, column 859W, on game birds, what steps are taken by his Department to assess the  (a) qualifications and  (b) objectivity of those who peer review reports referred to by him in answers to parliamentary questions; what steps were taken to assess the objectivity of Professor Emeritus David Coleman; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: In my answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, column 859W, on game birds, I confirmed that, in general, scientific data referenced in parliamentary questions are drawn from peer reviewed publications or are reviewed by staff within the Department or statutory advisers. As is usual practice, the peer review was organised by the organisation which funded the report.

New Forest Verderers

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will re-appoint the current Official Verderer; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The current Official Verderer was appointed in May 2002 and was re-appointed in 2005 for a second term of office, with the expectation that he would serve until 2008.
	The Official Verderer wrote to the Office of the Prime Minister in October 2007 placing his office at the disposal of the Crown, and this offer was accepted. The appointment process for a new Official Verderer, which is being administered by the Forestry Commission and which will follow the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies, is now under way.

Rural Areas: Community Development

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements are being made to ensure the continuity of funding hitherto provided through the Rural Social and Community Programme.

Jonathan R Shaw: I was pleased to announce, on 14 December, a new investment of £3.45 million to support the network of rural community councils (RCCs) in England for each of the next three years. This funding will be channelled through Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), the lead body for the RCC network. The Government has no plans to continue with other elements of the Rural Social and Community Programme, which was designed to be a two-year investment in building rural community capacity.

Rural Areas: Community Development

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Rural Communities Action Network budget details for Humber and the Wolds Community Council will be announced.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given on 21 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1493W.

Rural Areas: Energy

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to provide energy efficiency measures suitable for rural consumers in hard to heat homes that do not respond to traditional energy efficiency measures;
	(2)  what  (a) measures his Department is taking and  (b) advice and support is available to encourage rural consumers in hard to heat homes to become more energy efficient.

Phil Woolas: Details of grants and offers for energy efficiency measures are available, by postcode, on the website of the Energy Saving Trust, which is funded by DEFRA to promote and support energy efficiency in the household sector. The trust's Innovation Programme has included four projects relating to the use of energy efficiency measures in hard to treat homes.

Rural Areas: Housing

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when details of the Rural Housing Challenge Fund will be announced.

Jonathan R Shaw: As part of its preparations for the comprehensive spending review (CSR) during the summer of 2007, DEFRA asked the Housing Corporation to provide advice on the feasibility of a potential funding programme to improve the delivery of affordable rural housing at local level. That advice will be carefully considered in decisions about departmental spending priorities over the CSR period. No decisions about the fund have yet been made. We are currently finalising the Department's overall funding package and an announcement will be made shortly.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Trade: Treaties

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by the Government to secure agreement to an international legally-binding arms trade treaty.

Kim Howells: The UK is a strong supporter of the UN process towards securing a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made this clear in his recent speech at the Delhi Chamber of Commerce.
	In 2006, the UK co-sponsored the original UN Resolution that called for work towards an ATT and which 153 countries voted to adopt. Since then the UK has worked closely with the defence industry and with non-governmental organisations, and has lobbied internationally to attract support for an ATT. Nearly 100 countries, including the UK, have submitted their views on an ATT for publication on the UN website:
	http://disarmament.un.org/cab/att/Views_Member_States.html
	The UK maintains a dialogue with its international partners to work towards a legally binding global ATT, and will participate in the UN organised Group of Government Experts' meetings, which start in February to take this process forward.

British Council: Film

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will prevent the closure of the British Council's dedicated film office until a public consultation has taken place.

Jim Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 24 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2196W.

Chad: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what shortages of equipment and manpower have been identified for the European Union force for Chad; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We understand that the minimum requirements for deployment of this force have now been met. The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council is therefore expected to confirm the launch of the force on 28 January, and deployment will be initiated in February. We expect that the force should reach full operating capacity by May.

Chad: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in securing the deployment of the European Union force for Chad; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The requirements for deployment of the EU force to Chad and the Central African Republic were discussed at a force generation conference on 11 January 2008. The operation commander for the mission, Lieutenant General Nash, confirmed that he now has enough forces and assets available to recommend launching the mission.
	The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 28 January is therefore expected to confirm the launch of the force, and deployment will be initiated in February. We expect that the force should reach full operating capacity by May.

Departmental Accountancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what items of his Department's  (a) revenue and  (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer price index, (ii) the retail price index and (iii) other measures of inflation.

Meg Munn: We do not link any changes in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's revenue or expenditure directly to the consumer price index or the retail price index.
	We adjust the cost of living allowances, which we pay to staff serving overseas, every six months. We base changes in these allowances (up or down) on indices and data collected by Employment Conditions Abroad.

Departmental Consultants

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on consultants in each financial year since 2000, broken down by consultancy.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) on 6 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1427W. I also refer the hon. Member to the reply the Minister for Europe gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 9 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 542-43W.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of Freedom of Information requests received by his Department have given rise to responses that have been published by his Department.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has published 5 per cent. (165) of responses to 3,125 Freedom of Information Act requests received between January 2005, when the Act came into force, and the end of September 2007. The FCO has adopted a selective disclosure log whereby only the most interesting and high profile pieces of information are published.

Developing Countries: International Assistance

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department are working to promote the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Meg Munn: The UK's National Contact Point for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines is currently managed by officials from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform dedicates one full time official to work on the National Contact Point and is in the process of recruiting a second, while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development each currently contribute 20 per cent. of one official's time.

Embassies: Manpower

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many posts at each embassy have been  (a) created and  (b) abolished in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently has 261 posts overseas. 43 are staffed exclusively by locally-recruited staff. 218 are staffed by UK-based civil servants and locally-recruited staff. The latest FCO departmental report (2006-07) sets out the total number of FCO UK-based staff worldwide as 6,364. The 1997-98 FCO departmental report stated that there were then 5,971 UK-based staff.
	We keep the number of FCO staff at each post under constant review in the light of changing world circumstances, operational requirements and financial constraints. We are not able to compile data for changes in staffing at each post for each of the last 10 years as this would incur disproportionate cost.

European Commission: Manpower

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of staff in each Directorate-General of the European Commission is of British nationality  (a) overall and  (b) at senior grades.

Jim Murphy: We do not hold this information centrally. However, information on the proportion of staff holding British nationality in each directorate-general is available at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/about/figures/index_en.htm

Horn of Africa: Terrorism

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment has been made of the potential threat to the UK from terrorist activity in the Horn of Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: Al-Qaida and its local affiliates have a long history of terrorist activity in East Africa, from the Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam bombings of 1998 through to more recent activity in Somalia. Al-Qaida has exploited the absence of an effective Government in Somalia to use the country as a base for both terrorist training and planning. This is mainly focused on the region, but some has been directed against the UK. The UK is home to a small number of extremists of East African origin, as the failed 21 July 2005 attacks in London demonstrated.
	The Government's policy are to promote peace, stability and good governance in the horn of Africa. We are working, with our international partners, through the UN, EU and other international fora, to support programmes in the region that will assist development in these areas. We also support programmes to reduce the instability and lack of governance in Somalia. These mechanisms will help counter the terrorist threat to the UK from the horn of Africa.

International Contact Group for Somalia

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the next meeting of the International Contact Group for Somalia will take place.

Meg Munn: The next meeting of the International Contact Group for Somalia is due to be hosted by the African Union in Addis Ababa. A date for the meeting has not yet been set.

Kenya: Christianity

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the safety of Christians in Kenya; and what steps he is taking to promote their safety.

Meg Munn: We have had no reports of religious conflict or of targeting of Christians during the post-election violence. The Government are appalled by and condemn the incidents of violence that have broken out across Kenya, including horrific killings in several Kenyan cities and towns. We call for calm and for any grievances to be dealt with through the appropriate legal channels.

Kenya: Politics and Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage other African countries not to intervene in the internal affairs of Kenya.

Meg Munn: The Government are deeply concerned about the post-election crisis in Kenya. We are supportive of the African Union initiative to facilitate talks between the political parties and the mission, led by Kofi Annan, to assist them in doing so. We have been in touch with regional, and other African, leaders to underline our support for this African led process aimed at restoring peace, stability and prosperity to Kenya.

Kenya: Politics and Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken at  (a) bilateral,  (b) Commonwealth,  (c) EU and  (d) United Nations levels to assist in restoring peace and stability in Kenya.

Meg Munn: The Government are working tirelessly with all our international partners to support the African Union's leadership in trying to find a way forward. We believe Kofi Annan's mission is the best way to assist the parties to agree a solution, which will restore peace and stability to Kenya.
	The Commonwealth Secretariat has undertaken a visit to Kenya since the elections to find out what more can be done to help. The EU presidency statement of 11 January set out the EU's key concerns. The EU is a key element to the broad international support for the African Union's lead and for Kofi Annan's mission. The UN is focused on the humanitarian situation in Kenya and is working to ensure a swift and effective response to the humanitarian needs.

Kenya: Uganda

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports of Ugandan soldiers entering Kenya during the current political unrest; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We have no evidence to support reports of Ugandan soldiers entering Kenya during the current unrest. The Kenyan and Ugandan authorities have assured us that this has not happened.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 18 December 2007, on Iraqi interpreters.

Kim Howells: I replied to the hon. Member on 21 January.

Middle East: Diplomatic Service

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK diplomats are serving in each post in  (a) the Middle East and  (b) South Asia.

David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employs staff at its posts under a variety of terms and conditions, for example as casual staff and contractors. In addition, staff from other Government Departments, such as the Department for International Development, also work at our posts. The number of UK diplomats employed by the FCO at our posts in the Middle East and South Asia are listed in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			  Middle East  
			 Abu Dhabi 13 
			 Alexandria 1 
			 Algiers 13 
			 Amman 27 
			 Bahrain 9 
			 Baghdad 33 
			 Basra 11 
			 Beirut 16 
			 Cairo 33 
			 Casablanca 1 
			 Damascus 12 
			 Doha 14 
			 Dubai 26 
			 Jedda 5 
			 Jerusalem 12 
			 Kuwait 20 
			 Muscat 11 
			 Rabat 12 
			 Riyadh 29 
			 Sana'a 14 
			 Tehran 27 
			 Tel Aviv 15 
			 Tripoli 19 
			 Tunis 8 
			   
			  South Asia  
			 Chennai 21 
			 Colombo 19 
			 Dhaka 34 
			 Islamabad 118 
			 Kabul (includes Lashkar) 70 
			 Karachi 6 
			 Kathmandu 10 
			 Kolkata 4 
			 Mumbai 31 
			 New Delhi 69

Middle East: Diplomatic Service

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff are expected to require additional language training as a result of the decision to increase the number of UK diplomats in the Middle East and South Asia by 30 per cent.; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I refer the right hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 23 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 52-53WS.
	We will provide training for staff going to the Middle East and South Asia in languages such as Arabic, Farsi, Dari, Pashto and Urdu wherever there is an operational requirement. We do not yet know precisely how many staff will require this. It will depend on a range of factors, including the location, role and existing language skills of each officer.

British Nationals: Overseas Detention

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK nationals  (a) are serving life sentences and  (b) have been sentenced to death and are imprisoned in prisons overseas.

Meg Munn: As at 31 December 2007, British consular officials were aware of 2,419 British nationals detained overseas. We do not compile separate statistics on those detainees serving life sentences. We provide the same consular assistance regardless of sentence.
	We are currently aware of 10 British nationals abroad who have been sentenced to death. A further eight British nationals have been charged with offences that may carry the death penalty.

British Nationals: Overseas Detention

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK nationals are currently in prison overseas; and what estimated proportion of these cases relate to  (a) violent crime and  (b) drugs offences.

Meg Munn: As at 31 December 2007, British consular officials were aware of 2,419 British nationals detained overseas. We do not keep statistics on the numbers of British nationals detained for violent crime.
	We do, however, keep statistics for those detained on drug offences. Of the total number of British nationals currently detained abroad, 40 per cent. are for drugs related offences.

Pakistan: Nuclear Power

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of nuclear safety and security in Pakistan; and whether he has raised the matter with his Pakistani counterpart.

David Miliband: We continue to monitor closely issues of nuclear safety and security within Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan has recently given the UK assurances about the security around its nuclear installations.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the security situation in Somalia on peace and stability in the Horn of Africa.

Meg Munn: The Government are very concerned about the continuing potential for the security situation in Somalia to affect peace and stability in the horn of Africa.
	The UK is working with the international community and the UN to encourage the development of government institutions in Somalia that will enable the authorities to develop the capacity to tackle insecurity in Somalia and reduce the risk to neighbouring countries.

Somalia: Human Rights

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking with its international partners to improve the monitoring of the human rights situation in Somalia.

Meg Munn: The Government attach great importance to the protection of human rights. In Somalia, the security situation means that monitoring the human rights situation and gathering reliable information is very difficult. The UK is working with EU and UN agencies to find practicable solutions to increasing monitoring without endangering the individuals tasked with investigating allegations of abuse.
	We urge the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia to embrace its responsibility to protect the human rights of its citizens. We believe the improvement of governance and rule of law in Somalia is the best way to improve human rights situation in the country. We are therefore working closely with international partners and the Transitional Federal Government to support improvement in governance institutions in Somalia.

Somalia: Peacekeeping Operations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) financial and  (b) logistical support the Government are providing to the AU Mission in Somalia.

Meg Munn: During the financial year (FY) 2007-08, the Government have committed the following expenditure for support to the African Union for their mission to Somalia:
	£4.5 million for Ugandan and Burundian troop sustainment (fuel, food, rotation costs, airlift);
	£2.3 million for Burundian troop allowances (per diems for 2 battalions up to end of FY);
	£1.3 million for supplies to the Ugandan battalions (trucks, vehicle spares, paint etc.);
	£120,000 (maximum) for subsistence payments and accommodation for military planners;
	£20,000 for a Burundian military reconnaissance visit to Mogadishu;
	£20,000 for a Burundian liaison officer in Kampala (subsistence and accommodation); and
	£40,000 (maximum) committed for a potential Nigerian reconnaissance visit to Mogadishu.
	The current total UK commitment for supporting the African Union mission to Somalia during FY 2007-08 is £8,300,000.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which five key posts the UK is filling in the Darfur-Darfur dialogue and consultation.

Meg Munn: The Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) is the main mechanism for engaging Darfurian civil society in the Political Process, and will be the main mechanism for engaging Darfurian civil society in longer-term reconciliation and rehabilitation. The five key posts being filled by the UK for an initial six-month period are: Chief of Operations, Communication Officer and three Field Co-ordinators. This support over the next six months will help the DDDC to increase its financial management, planning and implementation capacity.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK is taking to secure a ceasefire in Darfur; and what progress has been made in achieving that objective.

David Miliband: The UK welcomed the Government of Sudan's announcement on 27 October 2007 of a unilateral cessation of hostilities. We have urged others to make the same commitment and all parties to honour their commitments. We are working with the UN, the African Union (AU), key allies and troop contributing countries to ensure that the AU/UN hybrid operation in Darfur is an effective peacekeeping force; and with the UN, the AU and other international partners to ensure that any new agreement on a cessation of hostilities can be effectively monitored.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 97W, on Sudan: peacekeeping operations, what  (a) issues have been discussed and  (b) conclusions have been reached in discussions with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations on the UN-EU mission in Chad/Central African Republic and the UN-AU hybrid mission in Darfur.

Meg Munn: We have repeatedly discussed with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the appropriate EU authorities the issue of co-ordination between the African Union/UN hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), which assumed authority on 31 December 2007, and the UN/EU mission in Chad/Central African Republic (EUFOR) which is scheduled to start deploying in February. UNAMID has a number of liaison officers deployed in Abeche in Eastern Chad and we understand EUFOR may also deploy liaison officers in Darfur.
	We have also extended the Joint Action of the EU Special Representative to Sudan to cover the EUFOR deployment in Chad, and to encourage co-ordination between the two missions. We are monitoring incursions across the Chad-Sudan border and, in bilateral contacts, we have urged both the Government of Sudan and the Government of Chad to exercise restraint.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 98W, on Sudan: peacekeeping operations, what action is planned at the UN Security Council in light of the lack of full co-operation by the Government of Sudan over the UNAMID deployment; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UN Security Council will continue to take a close interest in the African Union/UN hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) deployment throughout 2008. In response to the attack on a UNAMID convoy on 7 January, the UN Security Council issued a presidential statement on 11 January that called on the Government of Sudan to conclude
	"all the necessary arrangements for the expeditious deployment of an effective UNAMID force".
	We will continue to press the Government of Sudan to resolve outstanding issues, including force composition, the Status of Forces Agreement and night flying rights. We will also continue to discuss this issue with EU partners and to reiterate with them our readiness to consider further measures in the UN framework against any party that obstructs the prompt deployment of an effective force.

Terrorism: Detainees

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US administration on the destruction of videotapes of interrogations with suspected al-Qaeda operatives by the CIA in 2005.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed this subject with the US administration.

USA: Detainees

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any information has been passed to the UK from detainees held by the US administration since 2001, obtained through the use of interrogation techniques which may constitute torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under British law, including the technique known as waterboarding.

Kim Howells: It is the long-standing policy of the Government not to comment on matters relating to intelligence issues.
	The UK unreservedly condemns the use of torture as a matter of fundamental principle. The Government, including its intelligence and security agencies, never uses torture for any purpose, including obtaining information. Nor would we instigate action by others to do so.

TRANSPORT

A2: Gravesham

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost is of replacing the underpass connecting Down's Road and Hog Lane under the A2 in Gravesham.

Tom Harris: No estimate was made of the cost of replacing the underpass connecting Down's Road and Hog Lane under the A2 in Gravesham.
	However, the estimated cost of the road and road bridge due to replace the underpass is £1.1 million.

A27: Selmeston

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to improve safety on the A27 in the Selmeston area; and what the timetable is in each case.

Tom Harris: The Highways Agency undertook investigations into accident types in the Selmeston area in 2006-07. As a result, a programme of schemes has been developed to address safety concerns.
	In December 2007 the Highways Agency extended the double white lines and the existing 40 mph speed limit by approximately 400 metres west of Selmeston village where accidents have occurred due to vehicle movements at a bend and lay-by.
	During the next three years the Agency is planning, subject to funding, to improve safety on the A27 in the Selmeston area in two other locations:
	Between Selmeston and Middle Farm localised widening, introduction of a central hatched area and physical islands to discourage inappropriate overtaking.
	Improvements to the junctions between the A27 with Common Lane, Bopeep Lane and The Street.

A303

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to upgrade the  (a) A303 and  (b) A358; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: Further work on plans to upgrade the A303 and the A358 has been put on hold while the implications of the A303 Stonehenge decision for the wider strategy of improving the A303/A358 corridor are resolved between the Department of Transport and the South West region.

A303: Stonehenge

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who will fund  (a) proposed road junction improvements on the A303 at Long Barrow Roundabout and Countess Roundabout near Stonehenge and  (b) a proposed new roundabout at the junction of the A344 and A360 at Airman's Corner as a result of the Government's decision to build a new visitor centre at Stonehenge by 2012.

Tom Harris: No decisions have yet been taken on whether or not junction improvements are to be pursued on the A303 at Countess and Longbarrow roundabouts or on the A344/A360 at Airman's Corner. Such measures will be considered as part of the development of proposals for improving the visitor facilities at Stonehenge. Decisions about funding will be made when decisions are made in due course about what, if any, improvement measures are to be pursued.

A38: Plymouth

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will assess the causes of road traffic accidents on the A38 between Marsh Mills and Ivybridge in Devon over the past 12 months.

Tom Harris: Any investigation by the Highways Agency would have to await the outcome of police investigations. The agency obtains details of accidents from the police, who provide this data once their own investigations and those of any coroner's inquest, if appropriate, have finished. This process can take up to a year to complete.

A38: Plymouth

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will order an inquiry to be carried out into the number of road traffic accidents on the A38 between Plymouth and Ivybridge in Devon.

Tom Harris: It is not possible to justify an inquiry into the number of road traffic accidents on this section of the A38, as the collision rate for the last five years is more than 10 per cent. lower than the national average for this type of trunk road. The Highways Agency continually monitors safety on its roads with a view to implementing improvements as priority allows.

A5

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when a copy of the full progress report on the A5-M1 link will be sent to the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire.

Tom Harris: holding answer 21 January 2008
	Following the meeting of officials with the hon. Gentleman and representatives of regional groups in December 2007, opportunities to advance the scheme have been reviewed.
	I have asked that all these opportunities should be considered before the report is finalised. The Government Office for the East of England is working with the Department for Transport and other partners to finalise the report. I expect to receive the report during February 2008 and will send a copy of it to the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire as soon as possible.

Aviation: Radioactive Materials

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many aeroplane flights occurred in which spent nuclear fuel was carried within UK airspace in each of the last 10 years; what the origin and destination was of each case; and what volume of fuel was carried in each case.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 21 January 2008
	This Department holds information on one shipment of spent nuclear fuel by air within UK airspace in the last 10 years. This was a shipment in 1998 from Tbilisi, Georgia to Dounrey, Caithness containing approximately 4 kg of uranium.

Aviation: Security

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many flights to the US operating out of  (a) Heathrow and  (b) Gatwick were accompanied by armed air marshals in 2006-07; what the nationality of such marshals was; and to whom they are accountable.

Jim Fitzpatrick: For security reasons, it would be inappropriate to comment on the specific security arrangements which have been put in place at UK airports.

Bus Services: Concessions

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many individuals living in  (a) Formby (L37),  (b) Crosby (L23),  (c) Hightown (L38) and  (d) Seaforth and Waterloo (L22 and L21) have been awarded a free bus travel pass in 2007-08; what proportion of bus travellers this represents in each area; and how much this benefit has cost the public purse in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not hold information about the number of passes issued at the level requested. Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel) administers the Concessionary Travel Scheme that covers  (a) Formby,  (b) Crosby,  (c) Hightown and  (d) Seaforth and Waterloo. In October 2007 Merseytravel reported to the Department that they had a total of 286,794 concessionary travel passes currently in circulation.
	The Department does not have information about the number of bus trips taken by concessionaires at the level requested. Merseytravel is responsible for administering the scheme and may hold this data.
	Funding for concessionary travel is within Revenue Support Grant (RSG), so it is not possible to disaggregate information for the cost of this to the public purse since 1997. When the statutory minimum concession was raised from half fare to free off-peak local bus travel from 1 April 2006 an additional £350 million was added to RSG in 2006-07, with a further £367.5 million in 2007-08. From April 2008 an additional £212 million will be paid directly to local authorities by special grant to fund the new national concession, rising to £217 million in 2009-10 and £223 million in 2010-11. In the provisional distribution of the grant in 2008-09 Merseytravel would receive £6.519 million through special grant in addition to the existing RSG funding.

Cars: Exhaust Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of new cars sold in 2006 emitted less than 100g of carbon dioxide per kilometre; and what projection she has made of the percentage emissions that will be allowed in each year up to 2040.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In 2006, cars with less than 100 g/km CO2 tailpipe emissions accounted for no UK sales and 0.002 per cent. of the total EU market.
	Neither we nor the European Commission have any plans to set a limit per car. The Commission intends that new cars emit an average of 130 g/km from 2012, but has not yet proposed any figures for the longer term. We do not yet have a view for 2040; but we believe that 100 g/km as an average should be achievable by 2020 (or 2025 at the latest). We are urging the Commission, Parliament and Council to seek consensus on this as soon as possible.
	The dossier containing the Commission's proposal will be debated in Europe during 2008.

Crossrail Line

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding will be raised from the new Statutory Planning Charge for Crossrail; for how long the charge will be collected; on what developments it will be levied; and which local authorities it will affect.

Tom Harris: The Planning Bill introduced to Parliament on 28 November 2007 provides for a Community Infrastructure Levy. As part of the funding agreement between Transport for London and the Department for Transport, it is envisaged that the levy will be used to secure contributions from developers to provide funding for Crossrail. I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by the Secretary of State on 26 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 133-34WS.
	The timing of the charge, the type of developments and local authorities affected, and other details will depend on the final form of the legislation, the regulations laid under the proposed powers in the Planning Bill, and on the Mayor of London's policies established in line with the legislation and the regulations.

Gatwick Airport

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons passengers travelling through Gatwick Airport continue to be restricted to one item of hand luggage.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Secretary of State announced last year that the one bag restriction would be lifted from 7 January 2008, subject to airports demonstrating that they would be able to handle the additional bags without adversely affecting security. 23 airports have been approved to fully lift the restriction. Gatwick Airport's South Terminal Flight Connections Centre has also been approved. We expect the other parts of Gatwick Airport to achieve this aim later in the year.

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the proportion of planes landing at Heathrow Airport using the continuous descent approach; what assumptions have been made regarding the proportion of planes landing at Heathrow Airport using the continuous descent approach in the noise modelling findings contained in the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport public consultation document; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 24 January 2008
	 The current daytime levels of continuous decent approach (CDA) are around 80 to 85 per cent.
	Noise modelling for future Heathrow scenarios is based on the airspace arrangements described in the supporting technical reports by NATS. This assumes full CDA capability on all approaches to a three runway airport; but reduced CDA capability under the mixed mode ('maximum capacity, baseline') option, at around 35-40 per cent., as explained in paragraphs 3.102 to 3.105 of the consultation document. As the document states, the main noise benefits from CDA are felt further from the airport, outside the area of the 57 dBA noise contour.

Heathrow Airport: Public Participation

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria are to be used to assess the appropriateness of the need for a public consultation on flightpaths for a third runway at Heathrow airport once detailed design and simulation work has been carried out, as noted on paragraph 1.24, page 24 of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport public consultation document; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 24 January 2008
	 It is not for the Secretary of State for Transport to determine consultation criteria for airspace changes.
	Changes to airspace arrangements are subject to the independent Airspace Change Process, governed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). CAA Guidance on the Application of the Airspace Change Process (CAP725) provides detailed advice on the application of the process, including consultation requirements. It makes clear that all airspace changes will require some form of consultation but that the level of consultation will be determined by the impact that the change will have on others and not the size of the change itself.
	Specific consultation requirements on airspace changes in support of a third runway at Heathrow would be a matter for the sponsor of the airspace change, in this case the airport operator, BAA, with the support of NATS, the air traffic service provider, to discuss with the regulator, the CAA, as and when a detailed proposal is developed.

M25: Contracts

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which companies have been invited to tender for the widening of the M25.

Tom Harris: There are three organisations that have been invited to tender for the M25 Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract. These are:
	A consortium of Amey, Laing O'Rourke and Ferrovial
	Connect Plus—Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Atkins and Egis Projects
	Flow—Costain, Carillion, Vinci and Laing Roads.

Network Rail: Bridges

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons Network Rail are required to replace their bridges that bear a load of 24 tonnes.

Tom Harris: Network Rail-owned bridges over railways most commonly carry local authority roads. EC directives 85/3/ECC and 89/460 ECC require member states' "principal roads" to be made accessible to 40 tonne vehicles with 11.5 tonne axle weights. Network Rail-owned bridges are statutorily required to be able to carry 24 imperial tons. They are covered by a national programme of assessment and works (Bridgeguard 3), and a national cost sharing agreement with local authorities relating to the costs of assessment and strengthening.
	There is no obligation on Network Rail to strengthen its bridges carrying roads to accommodate 40 tonne lorries. If such carrying capacity were required, it would be for the local highway authority to provide the funding.

Public Transport: Rural Areas

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to ensure adequate spending on public transport in rural and remote areas of the country.

Rosie Winterton: Local and central Government are currently spending £2.5 billion a year on buses—including those operating in rural and isolated areas. This includes bus service operators grant (BSOG), the costs of mandatory concessionary fares, local authority subsidy of non-commercial services and capital expenditure on bus-related infrastructure schemes. It is for local authorities to decide what resources to devote to the support of rural bus services within their area.
	However, recognising the particular needs of rural areas, we have provided funding to local authorities in the form of rural bus subsidy grant. This grant is currently supporting over 2,000 new and enhanced services on which over 33 million passenger journeys are made annually. This year's allocations total £55.6 million, bringing the grant's total to nearly £450 million since its introduction in 1998.
	Demand responsive, flexibly routed and community transport services provide essential links in rural areas. To assist these types of services, we changed the regulations that govern the operation of bus services to enable more flexibly routed services to be registered with the traffic commissioner. We have also provided support for many community transport services by making them eligible for the first time to receive BSOG.
	The Local Transport Bill will benefit rural areas as well as towns and cities by modernising the regulatory framework for buses, giving local authorities a bigger role where this is necessary and providing strengthened arrangements for partnerships between local authorities and bus operators.
	The Bill also contains measures to expand the role of community transport and enable private hire vehicle operators to provide local bus services, extending the existing taxibus provisions to this sector for the first time. Both these measures are of particular relevance to meeting rural transport needs.

Railway Stations: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when a decision will be taken on whether to build a new railway station in the North Chelmsford-Springfield area; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The proposed new station in north Chelmsford is being privately promoted in connection with a major development in the Beaulieu Park area. The promoter is in active discussion with Network Rail, the train operator ('One Railway'), the Department for Transport, local authorities, and the Highways Agency.

Railway Stations: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when work will begin on the construction of the new railway station at Buckshaw Village, Chorley.

Tom Harris: This is a project that is being led by Lancashire county council with Network Rail. It is being funded largely by developer contributions. There is an active dialogue between the local authority and Network Rail, who will be responsible for project managing and delivering the station, provided the funding is fully in place. They are planning for the station to be operational by 2009 subject to funding.

Railway Stations: Easington

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to re-open rail stations at Horden, Easington and Blackhall in Easington constituency; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: We have no plans to re-open rail stations at Horden, Easington and Blackhall. It would be for the local authorities to propose and fund any new stations provided that they have a business case and if they consider that new stations are the best way of meeting local transport needs.

Railways: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains stopped at  (a) Chorley and  (b) Adlington on weekdays in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Tom Harris: 97 passenger trains stop at Chorley and 42 passenger trains stop at Adlington (Lancashire) on weekdays.

Railways: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to increase the  (a) number and  (b) capacity of trains calling at (i) Chorley and (ii) Adlington.

Tom Harris: The rail White Paper was published in July 2007. It sets out the resources we intend to make available to the rail industry and the increases in capacity, as well as safety and performance that we expect the industry to deliver in return.
	The Department for Transport is currently reviewing the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities' bid for funding from the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF). The proposal seeks to address congestion issues within the Greater Manchester area through introducing a road congestion charge bid while also investing in providing additional public transport opportunities, as part of the TIF bid.

Railways: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of train  (a) punctuality and  (b) overcrowding on the line between Colchester and London.

Tom Harris: Improving rail performance is a key objective for the Department for Transport. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and 'one' to address performance issues. These are monitored monthly.
	The most recent published PPM figures are those shown on Network Rail's website for the rail industry as a whole. This shows confirmed PPM figures up to period 9 (ending 8 December 2007). The website shows that 'one's PPM for period 9 was 84.7 per cent. and the moving annual average ('MAA') was 89.7 per cent., compared to whole industry figures of 86 per cent. and 89.2 per cent. respectively.

Railways: North West Region

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions her Department has had with Blackburn and Darwen borough council on a funding bid to upgrade the rail track and service between Blackburn, Darwen and Manchester Victoria.

Tom Harris: Officials from the Department, along with Network Rail, met officers from Blackburn and Darwen borough council in November 2007 to discuss improvements to the railway line between Blackburn and Bolton that would be necessary to deliver the council's aspiration for half hourly off-peak services between Blackburn, Darwen and Manchester Victoria. A funding bid has not been received from the council for this scheme.

Railways: North West Region

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains operate between Preston and Manchester via Chorley on a daily basis.

Tom Harris: 97 passenger trains operate between Preston and Manchester via (and calling at) Chorley, Monday to Friday.

Railways: Overcrowding

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the levels of overcrowding on trains running between Preston and Manchester at peak times; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: There are no specific requirements regarding levels of crowding on this route. The Department's general requirements for crowding are that passengers should not be expected to stand for more than 20 minutes.
	The rail White Paper was published in July 2007. It sets out the resources we intend to make available to the rail industry and the increases in capacity, as well as safety and performance, that we expect the industry to deliver in return.

Railways: Prices

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2008, what measure of inflation is used by her Department in determining rail price increases under the terms of the South Eastern Franchise Agreement for 2008.

Tom Harris: holding answer 24 January 2008
	 The measure of inflation used for Southeastern's January 2008 regulated fares was the July 2007 retail prices index figure—3.8 per cent.
	Southeastern may price unregulated fares at its discretion.

Road Traffic

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average delay was on England's motorways and trunk roads, expressed in minutes per 10 miles, in respect of  (a) all journeys and  (b) the slowest 10 per cent. of journeys in each year since 1997.

Tom Harris: holding answer 22 January 2008
	The average delay on England's motorways and trunk roads, expressed in minutes per 10 miles in respect of all journeys and the worst 10 per cent. of journeys in each year since 2004-05 is shown in the following table. The earliest available data are for the period August 2004 to July 2005 and the latest for November 2006 to October 2007. Data before 2004-05 are not held centrally on this basis.
	
		
			  Average delay on England's motorways and trunk roads for all journeys and worst 10 per cent. respectively, for each year since 2004-05 (minutes per 10 miles) 
			   Average delay (minutes per 10 miles) 
			   All journeys  Worst 10 per cent. 
			 August 2004 to July 2005 1.16 3.78 
			 August 2005 to July 2006 1.24 3.78 
			 August 2006 to July 2007 1.32 4.18 
			 November 2006 to October2007 1.29 4.08 
			  Source: Information derived from the Highways Agency Traffic Information Systems database 
		
	
	These figures represent average daytime delays (6 am to 8 pm) on the 91 routes currently used for monitoring performance on the strategic road network.
	Delay is the difference between observed journey time and a reference journey time (the time that could theoretically be achieved when the traffic is free flowing).

Road Traffic Offences

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the appeal process is in the event of a disagreement in the application of a traffic regulation order.

Rosie Winterton: Where traffic regulation orders are subject to civil enforcement by local authorities, a motorist wishing to dispute a penalty charge notice may make formal representations to the relevant local authority. If these are rejected, the motorist may appeal to the independent parking adjudicator. The grounds on which a formal representation and any subsequent appeal can be made include that the "alleged contravention did not occur". This might be the case if there was a dispute as to whether the traffic regulation order applied to the conduct complained of (for example if there was a question as to when parking restrictions applied under the order).
	Where civil enforcement has not been introduced, issues as to the application of a traffic regulation order would need to be raised in the first instance before the magistrates court.

Roads: Accidents

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents on roads in England involved drivers who were aged 17 in 2007.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not available. Statistics on reported personal injury road accidents in 2007 are due to be published in June 2008.

Roads: Accidents

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of  (a) drivers and  (b) vehicle passengers who were (i) killed and (ii) seriously injured on roads were not wearing seat belts in 2007.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not available. Research reported in the published "Second Review of the Government's Road Safety Strategy" and "Road Safety Research Report No. 76: Trends in Fatal Car-occupant Accidents" both published on 26 February 2007, estimates that about a third of fatally injured car occupants were not wearing their seatbelts. For 2005 figures, it represents about 565 people, and it is estimated that about 370 people might have survived if they had been properly restrained. These reports are available at the following links and have also been deposited in the Libraries of the House.
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/strategytargets performance/2ndreview/
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme5/76?version=2
	A research report giving further details on seat belt wearing has also been published by TRL limited.
	http://www.trl.co.uk/store/report_detail.asp?srid=6160&pid=220

Roads: Accidents

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) road traffic accidents,  (b) road traffic fatalities,  (c) accidents involving motorcyclists,  (d) fatalities involving motorcyclists,  (e) accidents involving bicyclists and  (f) fatalities involving bicyclists there were in each county in the UK for each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 22 January 2008
	Tables showing the number of  (a) reported personal injury road accidents,  (b) fatalities,  (c) reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one motorcycle,  (d) motorcycle fatalities,  (e) reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one pedal cycle and  (f) pedal cycle fatalities in each county in GB for 1997 to 2006 have been deposited in the Libraries of the House.

Roads: Accidents

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures her Department uses to collect statistics on the number of road traffic accidents, with particular reference to accidents in Devon.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The national collision statistical reporting form (commonly known as STATS19) is used to collect standard information, when a personal injury road accident is reported to the police. The information is collected by the police at the scene of the accident or, in a minority of cases, it is reported by a member of the public at a police station. Some 50 data items are collected for each accident, including the time, location and circumstances of the accident, the vehicles involved and some information on each casualty. After processing this information is forwarded by each police force (via local processing authorities in the case of some forces) to the Department electronically and entered into a database. The data are checked, analysed and detailed results published annually in "Road Casualties Great Britain".
	Personal injury road accident data in Devon are collected on behalf of the Department by Devon and Cornwall constabulary. Accident and casualty totals for the year are agreed with Devon county council at the year end.

Roads: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects work to commence on the junction from the A12 Colchester Northern by-pass to the Northern Approach Road near the Colchester Community Stadium.

Tom Harris: Delivery of the junction is tied to planning consent and is a matter for developers to take forward in line with plans for delivery of proposed housing, employment and leisure facilities in North Colchester. Both English Partnerships and the Highways Agency are working to help bring forward time scales for delivery. In view of this, start date is not currently available, although it is anticipated that work could start during 2009, subject to the completion of statutory procedures.

Roads: Tolls

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with  (a) the Prime Minister and  (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the national roll-out of road pricing.

Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State speaks regularly to both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor about transport issues across the range of her responsibilities.
	We continue to take forward work on road pricing, notably supporting local authorities in the development of local pricing schemes, and working with industry to explore how more advanced technologies might support schemes on a wider scale in due course. No decisions have been taken on national road pricing.

South West Trains

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors underlay her decision to allow South West Trains to close their existing travel centres and not require them to be retained for railway purposes; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The South West Trains franchise agreement does not require the provision of Travel Centres at its stations, nor does the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) which governs station ticket offices.
	However, the change of use of part of a station or facility at that station, such as a Travel Centre, to another use which is non rail related is governed by the Network Modifications (Closures) regime contained in the Railways Act 2005 ("the Act"). Should South West Trains propose to change the use of Travel Centres with a non rail facility, their proposals will be dealt with under the provisions of the Act.

Virgin Rail: Rolling Stock

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made in discussions between her Department and Virgin Trains on the elongation of Pendolino trains from nine to 11 cars.

Tom Harris: The Department received in 2007 an unsolicited proposal from Virgin Trains to extend their franchise for two years (2012-14), which included a plan to lengthen Pendolino trains, which was analysed in considerable detail. The Department concluded that this proposal provided significantly less value for money compared with the likely outcome of the refranchising exercise scheduled for completion in 2012. The Department is preparing its own proposals to introduce extra capacity on the west coast main line.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Allotments: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of whether Chorley borough council makes adequate provision for allotments.

Iain Wright: The provision of allotments is the responsibility of local authorities. The Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 places a duty on local authorities to provide allotments where they perceive demand for them in their area.
	Written representations may be made to the local authority on the need for allotments by any six resident registered electors or persons liable to pay council tax, and the local authority must take those representations into account (section 23(2) of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908). The council must assess whether there is a demand for allotments in their area. If the council then decides that there is a demand for them, they have a statutory duty to provide a sufficient number of plots. In terms of the duty to provide under section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 there is no time limit for provision once it has been established that there is a demand.
	The local government White Paper provides new opportunities for citizens to hold their local providers to account for quality of services and facilities.
	Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 (Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation) requires local authorities to assess the needs of their communities for a range of open spaces, and to address any identified deficiencies in provision. This is consistent with our wider policy to give local authorities flexibilities and freedoms to determine what is most appropriate for their local area.
	To further support local authorities, we are currently revising the good practice guide for the management of allotments in conjunction with the Local Government Association.

Community Development: Finance

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's planned expenditure on business support, promotion of enterprise and economic development is from 2007-08 to 2010-11; and which elements of this expenditure are planned to be funded through the regional development agencies' single pot.

John Healey: Communities and Local Government will provide £l,586 million in 2007-08, £l,548 million in 2008-09, £1,510 million in 2009-10 and £1,474 million in 2010-11 to the regional development agencies' single budget. The RDA single budget is intended to deliver a range of statutory objectives including regeneration, business support, employment, skills and sustainable development. The RDAs' detailed proposals for business support covering the next three years will be set out in their corporate plans which will be published in the spring.
	Communities and Local Government does not hold separate expenditure data for the range of the Department's planned spending on business support or promotion of enterprise and economic development, although the Department's funding is expected to contribute significantly to these areas, including through the RDAs.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions since her appointment as Secretary of State she has travelled outside the United Kingdom on official business; for what purposes; and at what cost.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait) on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, column 844W.

Green Belt

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 131W-9W, on the green belt, how many hectares of green belt there were in  (a) Durham and  (b) Easington in 1997.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 23 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2046W.

Housing: Planning

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been issued to planning authorities on the density of housing development.

Iain Wright: Using land efficiently is a key consideration in planning for housing. Guidance to local planning authorities on developing appropriate housing density policies is set out in Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3), published last November. While PPS3 advises a national indicative minimum density figure of 30 dwellings per hectare, it also grants more flexibility to local planning authorities to take account of local circumstances and set their own local standards for density by setting out a range of densities across their plan area, rather than one broad density range.

Housing: South West Region

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will estimate for each of the unitary authority and district council areas covered by the draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West the percentage increase proposed in the independent panel report over the 2006 base in the number of new houses.

Iain Wright: The Secretary of State is currently considering all the recommendations made by the Panel and she is planning to publish her Proposed Changes to the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy in the spring. I would like to stress to the hon. Member that no conclusions have yet been reached on any of the Panel's recommendations.
	The following table has been prepared using information at Appendix (ii) of the Panel's report.
	
		
			   Overall net increase in dwellings (number) for period 2006-26  Percentage  i ncrease 
			   Draft  R egional  S patial  S trategy as submitted to Government in April 2006 by South West Regional Assembly  Recommendations of  I ndependent  P anel in their  r eport December 2006  Between  P anel  r eport and  D raft  R egional  S patial  S trategy 
			 West of England Housing Market area 110,200 126,950 15.20 
			 Bristol City 28,000 30,000 7.14 
			 South Gloucestershire 23,000 30,800 33.91 
			 North Somerset 26,000 26,750 2.88 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 15.500 18,800 21.29 
			 West Wiltshire 10,500 12,300 17.14 
			 Mendip 7,200 8,300 15.28 
			 Swindon Housing Market area 49,000 53,900 10.00 
			 Swindon 34,000 34,200 0.59 
			 North Wiltshire 10,000 13,700 37.00 
			 Kennet 5,000 6,000 20.00 
			 Gloucester and Cheltenham Housing Market area 48,600 56,400 16.05 
			 Gloucester 11,500 11,500 0.00 
			 Cheltenham 8,500 8,100 -4.71 
			 Tewkesbury 10,500 14,600 39.05 
			 Stroud 6,700 9,100 35.82 
			 Cotswold 6,000 6,900 15.00 
			 Forest of Dean 5,400 6,200 14.81 
			 Exeter Housing Market area 38,400 46,900 22.14 
			 Exeter City 10,500 12,000 14.29 
			 East Devon 11,400 17,100 50.00 
			 Elsewhere in Exeter JSA (Exeter City/East Devon/ Teignbridge) (4) 1,500 — -100.00 
			 Mid Devon (3) 6,400 7,400 15.63 
			 Teignbridge (3) 8,600 10,400 20.93 
			 Torbay Unitary Authority Housing Market area 10,000 20,000 100.00 
			 Taunton Housing Market area 27,900 34,500 23.66 
			 Taunton Deane 17,300 21,800 26.01 
			 Sedgemoor 8,400 10,200 21.43 
			 West Somerset(2) 2,200 2,500 13.64 
			 Bournemouth and Poole Housing Market area 40,150 48^00 19.80 
			 Bournemouth 14,600 16,100 10.27 
			 Poole 9,500 10,000 5.26 
			 Christchurch 3,450 3,450 0.00 
			 East Dorset in JSA 5,200 6,400 23.08 
			 Elsewhere in East Dorset District (4) 200 — -100.00 
			 Purbeck 2,100 5,150 145.24 
			 North Dorset 5,100 7,000 37.25 
			 Plymouth Housing Market area 45,100 47400 4.66 
			 Plymouth City 24,500 24,500 0.00 
			 South Hams (3) 11,000 11,800 7.27 
			 Caradon 5,800 6,500 12.07 
			 West Devon(3) 3,800 4,400 15.79 
			 West Cornwall Housing Market area 31,600 48,800 54.43 
			 Penwith 4,800 7,800 62.50 
			 Kerrier 8,200 14,400 75.61 
			 Carrick 10,000 10,900 9.00 
			 Restormel 8,600 15,700 82.56 
			 Polycentric Devon and Cornwall Housing Market area 20,500 35,000 70.73 
			 North Cornwall 7,600 13,400 76.32 
			 Torridge 4,800 10,700 122.92 
			 North Devon (2) 8,100 10,900 34.57 
			 Salisbury District Housing Market area 9,200 12,400 34.78 
			 Weymouth and Dorchester Housing Market area 13,800 18,100 31.16 
			 West Dorset 8,200 12,500 52.44 
			 Weymouth and Portland 5,600 5,600 0.00 
			 South Somerset District Housing Market area 13,600 19,700 44.85 
			 Dartmoor National Park(1) 1,000 1,000 0.00 
			 Exmoor National Park(1) 400 400 0.00 
			 Isles of Scilly(1) 100 100 0.00 
			 Total 459,550 569,450 23.91 
			 Dwellings pa 22,978 28,473 23.91 
			 (1) Estimated strictly local needs provision only. (2) Excludes part in Exmoor National Park. (3) Excludes part in Dartmoor National Park. (4) The draft RSS distinguishes between allocations for complete districts and allocations for "elsewhere" within the HMA.

Housing: Waiting Lists

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households were on waiting lists for housing in each London borough in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, West and Royton (Mr. Meacher) on 13 November 2007,  Official Report, column 116W.

Local Authorities: Grants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 667-68W, on local authorities: grants, what the grant per capita to each local authority was in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08; and what the average grant per capita to (i) district councils, (ii) unitary councils, (iii) county councils, (iv) metropolitan councils and (v) London boroughs was in (A) 2006-07 and (B) 2007-08.

John Healey: I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing the information on central Government grant per capita for each local authority in 2006-07 and budget estimates for 2007-08.
	The average central Government grant per capita by class of authority in 2006-07 and budget estimates for 2007-08 is in the following table.
	
		
			  £ per head 
			  Class of authority  2006-07  2007-08 
			 District councils 91 90 
			 Unitary councils 1,085 1,109 
			 County councils 800 833 
			 Metropolitan councils 1,288 1,316 
			 London boroughs (including City of London) 1,359 1,402 
			  Source:  Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) 2006-07 returns and Revenue Account (RA) 2007-08 budget estimates returns. 
		
	
	Central Government grant is defined here as the sum of formula grant (revenue support grant, police grant, general GLA grant and redistributed non-domestic rates) and specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF), i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services.
	Figures exclude grants outside AEF (i.e. where funding is not for authorities' core services, but is passed to a third party; for example, rent allowances and rebates), capital grants, funding for the local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.
	Per capita figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are based on Office for National Statistics' (ONS) 2006 Mid-Year Population estimates. 2007 Mid-Year Population estimates are not published yet.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities.

Local Government Finance: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 148W, on local government finance: disabled, when she expects to make an announcement on funding for the disabled facilities grant.

Iain Wright: Further to the announcement on 6 December of the national funding for Disabled Facilities Grant programme of £146 million for 2008-09, individual local authority allocations are currently being calculated. Government offices are due to submit their recommendations for ministerial approval shortly. Additionally the Government announced an extra £11.5 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant programme for 2007-08 on 14 January, individual local authority allocations for 2007-08 can be viewed on the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/doc/646786

Minister for the South East

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the work undertaken by the Regional Minister for the South East since his appointment; and what towns he has visited since appointment.

Parmjit Dhanda: My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Jonathan Shaw), in his role as Regional Minister for the South East, has acted as a champion for the region, with particular focus on housing and skills issues and on taking forward the sub-national review of economic development and regeneration in the best way for the region. My hon. Friend has held meetings with and visited key stakeholders to encourage coordination between different areas of government policy and discuss the unique requirements of the South East region. During the recent floods and animal health crises, my hon. Friend visited farms in affected areas across the region.
	My hon. Friend has visited the following towns in the South East in his capacity as Regional Minister: Newhaven, Hastings, Reading, Newbury, Thatcham, Cranbrook, Winslow, Guildford, Portsmouth, Aylesbury, East Mailing, Lymington, Winchester, Leatherhead, Folkestone, Ramsgate, Dover, Elstead, Icklesham and Hungerford.

Out of Town Shopping Centres: Carbon Emissions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her review of Policy Planning Statement 6 on planning for town centres will include an assessment of  (a) the effect on levels of carbon emissions and  (b) the effect on small shops of permitting out-of-town retail development.

Iain Wright: We will shortly conduct a 12-week consultation on our proposals to review Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres (PPS6). As explained in the Planning White Paper, "Planning for a Sustainable Future", our objectives for this review include the continued support for the Government's environmental goals, and the promotion of competition and improvement of consumer choice. The consultation will invite views on our proposals, including these two issues.
	The Planning White Paper also made clear that planning has an important role to play in meeting the challenges of climate change. That is why, at the end of 2007, we published a new Planning Policy Statement (PPS): Planning and Climate Change, which makes cutting carbon emissions a key Government priority for the planning system in England. The PPS sets out how planning can help secure enduring progress against the UK's emissions targets, by direct influence on energy use and emissions, and in bringing together and encouraging action by others. As part of this contribution, planning authorities are expected to prepare and manage the delivery of spatial strategies that help secure the fullest possible use of sustainable transport and make the most of existing and planned opportunities for decentralised and renewable or low-carbon energy. This document should be read alongside our forthcoming consultation on revisions to PPS6.

Planning Permission

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Minister in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister authorised the choice of pilot planning delivery agreement projects to be undertaken by the Planning Advisory Service and the advisory team on large applications.

Iain Wright: Ministers were not involved in the selection of Pilots for Planning Delivery Agreements (PDAs, which have since been renamed to Planning Performance Agreements). The Pilot programme was managed by the Planning Advisory Service and all nominations put forward by local authorities and developers were accepted on to the programme. The Planning Advisory Service is part of the Improvement and Development Agency.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many appeals to the planning inspectorate led to the local planning authority paying costs in each region in England in each of the last five years; and what costs were paid in each case.

Iain Wright: holding answer 24 January 2008
	Over the last 5 years 1,663 appeals led to local planning authorities being liable to pay costs, following awards made against them by inspectors and the Secretary of State.
	The breakdown by financial year is:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002-03 307 
			 2003-04 352 
			 2004-05 338 
			 2005-06 304 
			 2006-07 362 
		
	
	No further detail of authorities by regions is readily available.
	The actual amount to be paid is not determined by a costs award. This is for the parties to settle by negotiation initially in accordance with longstanding Government guidance contained in DOE Circular 8/93. Accordingly, no records are available of costs paid in each case.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning inspectorate site visits had not taken place 12 months after the date an appeal was lodged in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: holding answer 24 January 2008
	The following table shows the numbers of planning appeals lodged (received) in England and determined by the Planning Inspectorate for the five-year period 2002 to 2006, where a site visit was carried out, together with the number of appeals where a site visit had not taken place 12 months after the appeal was lodged.
	
		
			   Appeals lodged where a site visit was carried out  Number of site visits not taken place 12 months after appeal lodged 
			 2002 12,150 10 
			 2003 14,192 18 
			 2004 17,786 66 
			 2005 15,329 77 
			 2006 17,200 26 
			  Note:  Data for 2007 has not been included as a proportion of the appeals lodged in that year are still to be allocated site visits and the period of a year from receipt has only been reached for those appeals lodged in January 2007.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many appeals were  (a) lodged with the planning inspectorate and  (b) successful in each region of England in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: holding answer 24 January 2008
	The following table provides the information requested.
	
		
			   Received  Decided  Allowed 
			  2003
			 East Midlands 1,252 1,080 339 
			 East of England 2,653 2,309 740 
			 London 3,912 3,407 1,199 
			 North East 516 478 178 
			 North West 1,672 1,473 566 
			 South East 4,995 4,419 1,435 
			 South West 2,805 2,392 775 
			 West Midlands 1,509 1,347 460 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,279 1,164 359 
			 Total 20,593 18,069 6,051 
			 
			  2004
			 East Midlands 1,700 1,112 354 
			 East of England 3,128 2,048 625 
			 London 4,365 2,874 1,007 
			 North East 741 465 167 
			 North West 2,282 1,481 554 
			 South East 5,988 3,868 1,320 
			 South West 3,301 2,295 745 
			 West Midlands 1,981 1,331 456 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,650 1,034 355 
			 Total 25,136 16,508 5,583 
			 
			  2005
			 East Midlands 1,399 1,500 461 
			 East of England 2,560 2,783 850 
			 London 3,634 3,872 1,415 
			 North East 525 692 239 
			 North West 1,630 1,897 660 
			 South East 4,993 5,336 1,784 
			 South West 2,957 3,054 971 
			 West Midlands 1,697 1,759 614 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,372 1,476 440 
			 Total 20,767 22,369 7,434 
			 
			  2006
			 East Midlands 1,438 1,270 425 
			 East of England 3,007 2,596 851 
			 London 4,148 3,510 1,319 
			 North East 587 466 185 
			 North West 1,618 1,463 542 
			 South East 5,473 4,712 1,525 
			 South West 3,088 2,735 849 
			 West Midlands 1,846 1,609 588 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,850 1,493 468 
			 Total 23,055 19,854 6,752 
			 
			  2007
			 East Midlands 1,357 1,278 472 
			 East of England 2,790 2,712 922 
			 London 3,878 3,724 1,410 
			 North East 577 590 220 
			 North West 1,514 1,446 549 
			 South East 5,294 4,854 1,714 
			 South West 2,907 2,685 867 
			 West Midlands 1,544 1,545 575 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,769 1,702 602 
			 Total 21,630 20,536 7,331

Rough Sleepers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many rough sleepers there were in England in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of these were estimated to be military veterans.

Iain Wright: A national estimate of the number of rough sleepers in England is published every September. The estimate is based on the results of local authority street counts in those areas where a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem has been identified. The following table sets out the national rough sleeping estimate over each of the last 10 years.
	
		
			   Number 
			 1998 1,850 
			 1999 1,633 
			 2000 1,180 
			 2001 703 
			 2002 596 
			 2003 504 
			 2004 508 
			 2005 459 
			 2006 502 
			 2007 498 
		
	
	We do not hold national data on the proportion of rough sleepers who are military veterans. However, there is specific data for London provided under the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) recording system. In 2006-07, for those rough sleepers in London contacted by services, CHAIN records show around 5 per cent. of rough sleepers had spent time in the armed forces in the past.

Standards Board for England

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints were  (a) made to,  (b) investigated by,  (c) dismissed by and  (d) upheld by the Standards Board for England in each of the last five years; and what sanctions were imposed in each case upheld by the Board.

John Healey: The information requested, which has been provided by the Standards Board, is set out in the following table. The power to impose sanctions rests with either a local authority standards committee or the Adjudication Panel for England, following their consideration of the results of the investigations by either a local authority monitoring officer or one of the Standards Board's ethical standards officers.
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-present 
			  Total complaints received 3,566 3,861 3,836 3,549 2,550 
			 Complaints referred for investigation 1,105 949 857 634 389 
			 Complaints not referred for investigation 2,144 2,756 2,842 2,591 2,224 
			 Other (for example, outside the SBE's remit) 317 273 244 164 139 
			   
			  Complaints referred for investigation  
			 Complaints referred to the Standards Board's ethical standards officers (ESO) for investigation 1,105 1,009 465 241 127 
			 Complaints referred by the ESO for local investigation by the local authority monitoring officer n/a 96 385 347 203 
			 Directions issued by ESO to the local authority monitoring officer(l) n/a n/a 7 46 58 
			   
			  Completed cases by final findings (investigated by ESO)  
			 No evidence of breach of the code of conduct 154 310 119 128 65 
			 No further action 462 947 459 182 93 
			 Referred for local determination by monitoring officer 58 78 66 12 10 
			 Referred to Adjudication Panel for England 89 111 94 9 7 
			   
			  Standards Committee decisions and sanctions  
			 No breach of the code of conduct 2 4 3 1 0 
			 No further action 3 8 5 1 0 
			 Censured 18 26 18 7 1 
			 Suspended for up to 2 months 14 19 12 6 5 
			 Suspended for up to 3 months 2 15 19 2 3 
			   
			  Adjudication Panel decisions and sanctions  
			 No breach of the code of conduct 3 8 12 5 1 
			 Breach but no sanction imposed 3 7 24 5 0 
			 Suspended 0-6 months 13 13 5 3 2 
			 Suspended 6 months-1 year 0 6 13 0 0 
			 Disqualified for up to 6 months 3 1 5 0 3 
			 Disqualified for 6 months-1 year 19 11 15 5 1 
			 Disqualified for 18 months 4 4 1 1 1 
			 Disqualified for 2 years 12 3 7 0 0 
			 Disqualified for 3 years 10 2 1 0 0 
			 Disqualified for 4 years 2 3 2 0 0 
			 Disqualified for 4.5 years 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Disqualified for 5 years 1 1 0 0 1 
			 (1) Direction issued by an ESO to a local authority monitoring officer for action falling short of full investigation, for example conciliation or training to be undertaken by the member.

TREASURY

Capital Gains Tax: Second Homes

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact his proposals for changes in the capital gains tax regime applied to second homes will have on the housing market in rural areas.

Jane Kennedy: The 2007 pre-Budget report announced a reform of the capital gains tax regime for individuals. The impact on investors will depend on their personal circumstances and economic conditions more generally. The Government continue to monitor such issues.

Child Tax Credit: Poland

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Polish children living in Poland are in receipt of  (a) child tax credits and  (b) child benefit; and how much was spent on those payments in the last year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 17 January 2008
	Further to the answer given on 3 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1018W, to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond), at the end of September 2007, out of the 16,286 ongoing awards to Polish nationals, child benefit was being paid for around 26,000 children. The other information requested is not available.
	Migrants from the new EU member states continue to come to the UK to work and contribute to the success of the UK economy.

Departmental Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent by his Department  (a) in total and  (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury is fully committed to the equality and diversity agenda. In the last three years the Treasury has promoted equality of opportunity for all, supported internal employee-diversity networks, funded diversity and equality events in the Department and funded diversity awareness raising seminars.
	The Treasury has spent the following amounts on reasonable adjustments for staff with disabilities, on promoting equality and diversity by awareness raising events and on subscriptions (for example membership of the Employers Forum on Disability):
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2004-05 46,000 
			 2005-06 61,679 
			 2006-07 96,196 
		
	
	The Treasury introduced a Child-Care Voucher Scheme in 2004 as part of its work to promote equality and diversity. The costs for child-care vouchers are:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2004-05 120,000 
			 2005-06 172,531 
			 2006-07 139,370 
		
	
	In 2004-05 the staff costs for the Treasury's diversity team (three members of staff) were £91,000.
	Following a restructuring, in 2005, the staff costs for one member of staff were:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2005-06 26,500 
			 2006-07 27,000 
		
	
	Another 80 to 100 employees are involved in promoting diversity in the Department i.e. members of diversity support groups, diversity champions and senior staff sponsors. Staff costs for this work are not available.

Employment

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK were in full-time employment in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many people in  (a) the Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK were employed in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK were unemployed in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK were in part-time employment in each year since 1997;
	(5)  how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK were in temporary employment in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 25 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions concerning employment and unemployment in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK. (181287, 181288, 181289, 181372, 181373)
	Questions 181288 and 181289 ask for the same information on total employment and unemployment as questions received in July and October of last year, and I refer you to the answer given in official report volume 463 of 26 July, column 1460, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library, and volume 464 of 8 October, column 577.
	The above answers were compiled using the most up to date datasets available. Annual estimates are compiled from the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of people, who were (i) aged 16 and over, (ii) working age (Males 16-64, Females 16-59) resident in the Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside metropolitan borough, the North East and United Kingdom who were in full time, part time and temporary employment for the 12 months ending February 1997 to 2003, from the LFS and for the 12 months ending March 2004 to 2007, from the APS.
	Some estimates in Table 1 are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas; they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
	In this case, the sample sizes for the Jarrow constituency and South Tyneside metropolitan borough are not sufficient to give an accurate estimate of even the direction of the change over time. The information on the number of people in temporary employment is unavailable for 1997.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of people employed between 1997 and 2006 
			  Thousand 
			   UK  North East 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Temporary  Full-time  Part-time  Temporary 
			  1997( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 19,752 6,594 — 774 279 — 
			 Working Age 19,534 6,026 — 769 266 — 
			
			  1998( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 19,997 6,654 1,678 775 272 78 
			 Working Age 19,784 6,096 1,611 772 254 76 
			
			  1999( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 20,142 6,756 1,622 755 285 75 
			 Working Age 19,918 6,162 1,551 749 267 72 
			
			  2000( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 20,283 6,885 1,616 787 277 78 
			 Working Age 20,052 6,282 1,545 782 259 75 
			
			  2001( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 20,687 6,930 1,585 796 279 78 
			 Working Age 20,448 6,321 1,509 791 262 75 
			
			  2002( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 20,696 7,086 1,534 801 280 71 
			 Working Age 20,448 6,449 1,448 795 266 69 
			
			  2003( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 20,765 7,134 1,325 807 282 63 
			 Working Age 20,491 6,456 1,253 800 265 61 
			
			  2004( 2)   
			 Age 16+ 20,835 7,182 1,116 813 285 56 
			 Working Age 20,535 6,463 1,058 805 265 53 
			
			  2005( 2)   
			 Age 16+ 20,930 7,229 1,265 820 286 61 
			 Working Age 20,603 6,464 1,192 812 264 58 
			
			  2006( 2)   
			 Age 16+ 21,025 7,276 1,415 828 287 66 
			 Working Age 20,671 6,466 1,326 819 264 63 
		
	
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   South Tyneside  Jarrow 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Temporary  Full-time  Part-time  Temporary 
			  1997( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 39 18 — 16 9 — 
			 Working Age 39 17 — 16 9 — 
			
			  1998( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 44 15 5 21 8 2 
			 Working Age 43 14 4 21 8 2 
			
			  1999( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 43 15 5 23 8 2 
			 Working Age 42 14 5 23 8 2 
			
			  2000( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 43 15 4 23 8 2 
			 Working Age 43 14 4 22 7 2 
			
			  2001( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 46 18 5 24 9 2 
			 Working Age 46 17 5 24 9 2 
			
			  2002( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 46 17 5 23 8 2 
			 Working Age 45 16 5 23 7 2 
			
			  2003( 1)   
			 Age 16+ 47 16 5 23 8 2 
			 Working Age 46 16 5 23 7 2 
			
			  2004( 2)   
			 Age 16+ 48 14 4 23 8 2 
			 Working Age 47 13 4 23 7 2 
			
			  2005( 2)   
			 Age 16+ 46 15 4 23 8 2 
			 Working Age 45 14 4 23 7 2 
			
			  2006( 2)   
			 Age 16+ 45 16 4 22 8 2 
			 Working Age 44 15 4 21 8 2 
			  Sources: (1) Source LFS. (2) Source APS.

Employment

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK were employed by agencies in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 25 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have been employed by agencies in each year since 1997. (181295)
	The answer was compiled using the most up to date datasets available. Annual estimates are compiled from the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS).
	The attached table gives figures of those (i) aged 16+ (ii) of working age (males 16-64, females 16-59) employed by agencies, resident in the UK, North East, South Tyneside and Jarrow constituency for the 12 months ending February 1998 to 2003, from the LFS and for the 12 months ending March 2004 to 2007, from the APS. Comparable estimates are not available before 1998.
	The LFS estimates at this detailed level are only consistent with the UK population estimates published in February and March 2003 and they do not incorporate the more recent population estimates that are used in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  People employed by agencies( 1) , 1998-2006( 2 ) UK, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand 
			   UK  North East  South Tyneside  Jarrow 
			  1998( 4) 
			 Age 16+ 238 7 (3)— (3)— 
			 Working age 233 7 (3)— (3)— 
			  
			  1999( 4) 
			 Age 16+ 263 11 (3)— (3)— 
			 Working age 259 11 (3)— (3)— 
			  
			  2000( 4) 
			 Age 16+ 266 11 (3)— (3)— 
			 Working age 260 11 (3)— (3)— 
			  
			  2001( 4) 
			 Age 16+ 268 9 (3)— (3)— 
			 Working age 260 9 (3)— (3)— 
			  
			  2002( 4) 
			 Age 16+ 254 9 1 (3)— 
			 Working age 245 8 1 (3)— 
			  
			  2003( 4) 
			 Age 16+ 248 8 1 1 
			 Working age 240 8 1 1 
			  
			  2004( 5) 
			 Age 16+ 217 9 1 (3)— 
			 Working age 209 9 1 (3)— 
			  
			  2005( 5) 
			 Age 16+ 221 10 1 (3)— 
			 Working age 215 10 1 (3)— 
			  
			  2006( 5) 
			 Age 16+ 249 11 1 (3)— 
			 Working age 242 11 1 (3)— 
			 (1) In the LFS these are people who are employed as an agency temp in a non-permanent job. (2) For 1998-2003 the period covered is the 12 months ending in February the following year. For 2004-07 the period covered is the 12 months ending in March the following year. (3) Sample sizes too small to provide reliable estimates.  Sources: (4) LFS (5) APS

Internet Access: Lone Parents

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of lone parents with internet access, broken down by income decile.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 25 January 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of lone parents with internet access, broken down by income decile (181258).
	Estimates are not available for income deciles due to incomplete responses from those surveyed and an insufficient sample size. The small sample size also means that the estimate provided below has a wide margin of statistical error associated with it and should be used with caution.
	With this caveat in mind, the estimated proportion of lone parents in the UK in 2007 with Internet access is 44 per cent.
	More detailed information on Internet access is available in the published tables from the 2007 e-Society module of the Integrated Household Survey. The relevant estimates can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/inta0807.pdf
	The e-Society module is used to collect data in the first quarter of the year using the Integrated Household Survey and is the most comprehensive source of household and individual Internet activity in the UK.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 23 November 2007 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mr. A. Ali.

Jane Kennedy: The Chancellor has today written to the right hon. Gentleman.

Northern Rock

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's estimate is of the impact on the measurement of national debt of the latest package of guarantees for Northern Rock plc; and how it will be accounted for in the published accounts of the national finances.

Jane Kennedy: Guarantees are contingent liabilities, and will be recorded as such in the Treasury's accounts. Contingent liabilities only impact on public sector net debt if they become actual liabilities.

Office for National Statistics: Relocation

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has conducted a sustainability appraisal in respect of the relocation of the Office for National Statistics.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 25 January 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking if a sustainability appraisal has been made in respect of the relocation of the Office for National Statistics. (181300)
	The decision to relocate some posts to South Wales was driven by the need to respond positively to the Lyons Report and move posts out of London and the SE. In taking this decision we considered the impact of the additional posts on the infrastructure at our existing Newport site. In London we are vacating a large building and moving the remaining posts to an existing smaller site.
	ONS is consistently ranked among the top performing departments in the Sustainable Development Commission's annual report on progress against government environmental targets. Our policies and efforts are directed towards maintaining, if not improving our position. While there has not been a formal sustainability appraisal in respect of our relocation, we are confident that the decision has no negative environmental impact.

Energy Efficiency

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether his Department is on course to meet the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate targets to  (a) source at least 10 per cent. of its electricity from renewables by 31 March 2008 and  (b) increase recycling figures to 40 per cent. of waste by 2010;
	(2)  whether his Department has adopted the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme;
	(3)  whether his Department met the target in the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate to reverse the then upward trend in carbon emissions by April 2007;
	(4)  whether his Department is working towards an accredited certified environmental management system for  (a) its whole estate and  (b) some of its buildings.

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to reduce his Department's carbon dioxide emissions in 2008-09.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury sources 100 per cent. of its electricity from renewable sources. The department recycled 49.8 per cent. of the waste it produced as at December 2007. As part of its strategy to reduce carbon emissions, the department has adopted the Carbon Trust Management Programme. The Treasury has reduced carbon emissions progressively since 1999-2000, achieving a total reduction of 19 per cent. and has achieved certification for its environmental management system which covers the Treasury's main building, 1 Horse Guards Road. Work is under way to extend this coverage to offices the Treasury occupies in Norwich. The Treasury is currently reviewing with the Carbon Trust the progress we have made in reducing carbon emissions and are looking to identify ways in which further reductions can be made in 2008-09 and beyond.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of total deliveries of computer discs made on behalf of his Department and its agencies were carried out by mail carriers employed by HM Revenue and Customs in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 3 December 2008
	This information is not gathered by HM Treasury.

Stamp Duties

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many homes have claimed the zero rate of stamp duty on zero carbon homes in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008 to date; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of zero carbon houses that will qualify for stamp duty land tax relief which are currently under construction; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Since the relief has been available in October 2007, the stamp duty land tax relief for new zero carbon homes has been claimed for six transactions. Figures are not yet available for 2008.
	The tax relief will help stimulate the market for new highly efficient technologies in homes, both for the fabric of the building and in the use of microgeneration, and sets a gold standard for green homes.
	No estimate has been made of the number of houses that will qualify for the stamp duty land tax relief which are currently under construction. But we expect the numbers of qualifying transactions to rise as more properties eligible to claim the relief go on the market.
	The Government are committed to conducting an interim review of the relief in 2010 which will examine the effectiveness of the relief in stimulating the innovation necessary to ensure that all new homes are built to a zero-carbon standard from 2016.

Tax Allowances

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals  (a) have and  (b) have had in the last 20 years, tax immunity or privileges in the UK as a result of involvement in an international activity.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.

Taxation: Domicil

Philip Dunne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many individuals indicated non-domicile status on a P86 form in the last five years; and how many of those did not submit a self-assessment tax return in the 2005-06 tax year;
	(2)  how many individuals filed a DOM1 form with HM Revenue and Customs in the last five years; and how many of those did not submit a self-assessment tax return in the 2005-06 tax year.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.

VAT: Bingo

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there are plans to zero-rate VAT for bingo establishments.

Angela Eagle: The Chancellor keeps all taxes under review and decisions about gambling taxation are made at Budget alongside all other tax decisions.